Five levers to improve education in Morocco: taken from a true story!

We hear the most about the issues of quality education in Morocco during electoral campaigns. The topic gets social media buzzing with thousands of Moroccans posting Facebook messages, such as:

“My name is Lamyaa, Hassan, Maryem… I dream of schools in Morocco that are free, equal, and of good quality for ALL children. I want everyone, children of rich and poor, in the cities or in the countryside, deep into the desert or on top of mountains, to have the same quality education, so that we lift this country onto the road of the most advanced nations of the world. Share this message, and believe it or not, people will understand the message!”

The political parties have even produced animated videos to deplore the state of education in Morocco such as Nabila Mounib’s Facebook. The issues always return to the forefront: Why are we in this situation? Why is it that almost one third of Moroccans are illiterate as reported by Le Monde Afrique? Why is Morocco still one of the 21 least developed countries in terms of schooling (ranked 143 among 164 countries) as covered by Huffington Post Magrhreb?

Omar Azziman, President of the Higher Education Council, sent out an SOS last year calling “all areas of public authority, ONG, political parties, workers unions, civil society, the media” to mobilize around the strategic vision of the 2015-2030 education system reform. Moreover, the Higher Education Council published the strategic vision of the education reform in 2015. The report sets forth the foundations for a new and improved educational system:

• Fair and equal opportunities,
• Quality for everyone,
• The promotion of the individual and society

My personal experience is that I went to a public school in a small Moroccan village. I can tell you of the unfortunate conditions faced by thousands of Moroccan children since I understand all too well the causes of our high rate of school drop-outs. Therefore, I propose five key guidelines that can improve the level of the education system: 

1. Providing well-maintained infrastructure and facilitating access to schools

The temperature in my classroom in the summer was 45°, and never above 0° in winter, on rainy days, where we had to place buckets under the ceiling cracks in order to prevent flooding. There were three of us per table in a class with 40 students on average. I still remember the rundown condition of the board, the table, even the teacher’s desk. The toilets were deplorable; one could smell the stench from one hundred meters away. The school courtyard became a swamp between October and March due to rainfall. Such is the picture of a rural school in Morocco. That was my elementary school, a few kilometers from the capital. Such conditions do not motivate children to go to school every morning. Even worse, some of my classmates had to walk (5km, 10km, 15km) or hitchhike to go to school. It is time to think of innovative cost-effective solutions to ensure minimum standard conditions in our schools.    

1. Putting teachers at the heart of the education system

Teachers must be the strongest link in the education system to share the values that society wants to transmit to the new generation while inspiring students to learn. More importantly, they need to be able to master the topics they teach in order to impart correct knowledge to their students.

It is essential to enhance the conditions of the teaching profession in order to attract the best candidates. Such measures can include training teachers by providing a solid education program and supplementing their teaching capabilities with continuous training courses. Furthermore, we need to implement new technology to encourage collaboration among teachers, and emphasize team work to revitalize interest in their subjects.

1. Educating before teaching

School has the double role of educating and teaching. It is in this sense that preschool is important; it is at this age that children can learn the values that will make them good citizens: respect, sharing, openness, etc. This role of education is a constant through primary, secondary and even higher education. One example comes to mind. We had outings with our French teacher in college. The purpose of these outings was to discuss and debate over coffee or in a garden, such topics that weren’t addressed in class: Respect for Civil Liberties, importance of diversity in society and even the “best practices” of gallantry. It is necessary to recognize how crucial the role of school is during the entire education cycle by establishing a clear citizen’s charter, increasing extracurricular activities, and fostering a spirit of initiative among students.

1. Using language that the students can understand

The language of instruction is a touchy subject in Morocco and, in my view, one of the main problems with our education system. In elementary school, children have courses in classical Arabic, despite the fact that, in the best of cases, their native language is Moroccan Arabic (different from classical Arabic) or Amazigh. As a result, the students understand absolutely nothing and instead of focusing on the educational learning, the students lose their energy attempting to learn/guess a new language.

From then on, teaching is delivered in classical Arabic throughout the school curriculum; teaching of French starts in third grade in elementary school, and English in secondary school. Once in higher education, everything is taught in French. The result is students, and a system, unable to communicate properly due to the lack of proficiency in any language, and thus unable to express their ideas.

It is important to educate citizens who can speak several languages, but it is unwise to neglect the importance of the correct language of instruction. In my opinion, preschool and part of elementary school should be taught in the child’s mother tongue (Darija, Amazigh or other), and then, it is a priority to strengthen teaching of the English language as soon as possible in the cycle, and use this language in higher education to build English language skills for usage in a globalized environment characterized by the predominance of the English language.

1. Facilitating access to new technologies

I had the opportunity to have access to a computer at the beginning of the 90s, when I was nine years old. Certainly, not through my elementary school. At that time, having access to something new, such as a computer, liberated and triggered in me a stream of creativity that would not have taken place otherwise. At age 11, I developed my first program to create my first business at age 21.

Ensuring access to new technology (such as 3D printers, drones and interconnected devises) has to be a priority within the framework in reforming the educational system: it would free a creative energy in young people which will nurture their motivation and ambition. Access to these devices could be achieved through partnerships with research labs, hubs or private operator associations. One such example is the “Fabrica de Sabao”, a technology incubator in Angola, which helps youth liberate their creative energy by providing access to new technologies to young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Together, these measures could make a significant stride in improving the quality of education across Morocco, where it is desperately needed.