E-learning making progress in Morocco
2007-05-10
Many private and public institutions are beginning to see the benefit e-learning brings to students and employees.
By Adam Mahdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 10/05/2007
 [elearningagency.com] Private companies are entering the growing market for distance learning products and services. |
Despite numerous technical and publishing challenges, distance learning or e-learning is gaining momentum in Morocco in both the public and private sectors. Short-term forecasts show that 15% of private companies' training budgets will soon be dedicated to distance learning programmes.
The increased availability and functionality of information technology (IT) has brought new teaching tools to the Moroccan market, including mobile phones, video-conferencing, e-mail, discussion forums, chat software and document sharing.
Open and/or remote learning (formation ouverte et/ou à distance, or FOAD), provides flexible training opportunities to individuals, businesses, and government bodies. Training packages can be tailored according to individual or collective needs and electronic resources can be accessed from anywhere. Because classrooms are virtual, students can study at their own pace and teachers can instruct and assess on a flexible schedule.
An increase in the number of government-sponsored FOAD projects suggests a general shift towards the greater use of IT in the training sector. Morocco's finance ministry recently decided to integrate a dedicated distance learning service into its organisational structure. The Ministry of National Education has begun work on an interactive television system (TVI) which aims to provide remote training for teachers across the Kingdom.
Since 2006, Abdelfadil Bennani, President of Ibn Zohr University, has led a particularly ambitious project to create a Virtual Moroccan Campus. The campus aims to pool the resources of e-learning programmes throughout the university system, with the ultimate goal of developing full remotely-provided courses of study at the vocational, undergraduate, and graduate degree levels.
Despite the growing popularity of e-learning in Morocco, it is still in its infancy. For Radouane Mrabet, a teacher and researcher at the National School of Information Technology and Systems Analysis (ENSIAS), FOAD’s slow progress in the country can be explained by the exorbitant costs of developing training platforms and modules. "Even when these two major stumbling blocks are overcome, organisers must be prepared to bear the cost of tutors to provide support and remote supervision to trainees," he added.
So far, the private sector is best equipped to handle those costs. "Businesses are starting to fund distance learning for their employees," remarked Said Tahrir, Managing Director of the Moroccan subsidiary of business-training firm Formademos. Many large international corporations have already begun to provide their employees with virtual training modules that complement conventional training already in place.
Training centres have not been blind to these developments, and many have made a marketing push to capture the e-learning market. Formademos has launched two Masters programmes aimed at university graduates with at least one year of work experience. One programme offers a degree in "education and employment systems technology", and the other program offers a degree in business administration.
Morocco's FOAD market potential has whetted the appetite not only of local firms, but also of international companies specialising in the online training market. Several publishers from Europe and the United Arab Emirates are working to form close partnerships with local investors in order to market their e-learning products to major private companies in Morocco.
The investors’ interest is not unfounded. According to professional estimates of short-term trends, investment by Moroccan businesses in distance learning programmes will soon represent more than 15% of total training budgets.
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benhayoun Posted 2007-05-11
Hello. I would like to congratulate you: your site is interesting. But, it needs to be improved somewhat as far its coverage of society, politics, interactions and so on between the countries of the Maghreb. Concerning the current subject, e-learning, it should be known that it isn’t easy to pass judgment on it. Apart from technical and financial problems, education available at a distance necessitates a certain number of things being resolves. First of all, there are numerous quality teachers and tutors in Morocco and, though they a part of the educational system, they either they lack means or are not motivated. This is a large problem, with a far-spreading scope!!! Sincerely.
Driss Posted 2007-05-11
This is excellent and we should do everything to promote e-Services and educate educate educate! Educate the right stuff not the obscure madness of extremism and cave-oriented teachings. this is the only way we can fight those idiots who pushes young kids to blow themselves up instead of blowing their old ugly bearded faces. real Jihad is about learning, building and respecting other views, faiths and cultures, Choukrane,
AGOEC Posted 2007-05-17
This is great that this is happening in Morocco. Let’s have some hoots and hollers and a red carpet to commemorate its inauguration! But, this time they’ll have to be virtual. (Or else where could we put them?) Whether it be distance-learning or in-class, “KnowHow,” the driving force behind continuing education, will aid in further educating and leveling the “knowledge” playing field for Morocco’s human ressources. But, what exactly is going to be discussed in the FOAD programs? The course titles and texts are all in third-person singular.
drissi Posted 2007-09-26
I hold a diploma in business and I would like to do distance learning in the same field. What should I do? I am interested in having another diploma and continuing my education in commerce. –Thank you
Banadi Posted 2008-01-30
I am looking for an accelerated distance-learning program for Law in Morocco. Zellaka Khouriubga
younes Posted 2008-02-25
Hello Everyone, I am looking for a distance education program in Morocco in the field of building and public-works construction. Is this possible?
نهى نبيل Posted 2008-02-28
I ask your honour to help me urgently as I am making a research about e-learning. Please provide me with the emails of those who studied or are studied in an e-learning course to fill in a special questionnaire form for the research. Please help me and reply very soon.
Driss EL HADDAOUI Posted 2008-05-27
Hello, You have raised a serious debate on e-learning in Morocco with your article. I have been asked to present my doctoral thesis on e-learning at the University of Bordeaux. I am most interested in the establishment of a distance-learning system, as I am seeking to adapt tools used elsewhere to the reality of Morocco while also using my skills as an education analyst to study the needs of the target population and the modeling and conception of training modules, tutorials, technical means, terms of evaluation and so on. I would like to have your help. Could you propose to me a field of employment for the implementation of an e-learning system that I could conduct with the aforementioned university over a three-year period? Best regards
BEN Posted 2008-05-28
This distance-learning project can only be from the Maghreb. Here we have concrete steps to take so that each country will offer what works best for it and receive the corresponding funding. We need to reduce the delay in this area of high demand. Beyond cluttering the minds of the general population with subcontracting and political demagoguery that is a cancer on the people— although, these are the only things we have— there are also people who want to make progress, realising interesting, concrete projects in the Maghreb.
nabil_ati Posted 2008-10-23
I ask your honour to help me urgently. I am looking for a research about e-learning. I hope that you will provide me with information in construction and public works. Is this possible?
فاطمة Posted 2008-10-25
Salam alikum. Can you send me some ways to design programmes (e-learning programmes) for university research.
يوسف Posted 2008-11-29
Salam alikum. I want to know from the Ministry of Higher Education why the people who have masters degrees from a foreign country and want equivalency here in Morocco are asked to submit the baccalaureate certificate in Morocco as a main condition. In foreign countries, without a baccalaureate, you can just with a diploma a specialized technician diploma continue your studies for a masters degree. On the other hand, in Morocco, there are people who have a doctorate without having a baccalaureate as well as doctors and engineers. I have a master degree in international trade from a school in Spain through e-learning. I was accepted to study for this master with my specialised technician diploma in business management which was issued to me by the vocational training centre even if I don’t have a baccalaureate degree, just a third year level of the secondary education in experimental sciences. I have written to the competent ministry, but they said that the baccalaureate was compulsory. In Morocco, there are people who study for the new master in Oujda without having the baccalaureate degree just because he has a diploma from the national school of administration in Rabat. To sum up, he has no baccalaureate, this is unjust to me. As a local authority worker, I want to stop here. I was approved to take the PhD degree in economics or business administration. I will prepare it, God willing. Thank you.
azzedine Posted 2009-02-13
I am an engineer. I am very interested in getting a masters degree education, especially in sustainable development at the local level.
moh Posted 2009-03-09
Peace of God be upon you. I am a teacher and every year I ask for information about completing my studies through the internet. But always I get nothing at all.
Yassine Posted 2009-04-13
getting online degrees is something common here in north America, you can be graduated from any university without being forced to attend classes on campus. however in Morocco things are different and difficult at the same time. Moroccan government follows the same rules that governs the distance education in Europe, European countries, except Great Britain, put some restrictions over online and distance degrees, because they are easier so to speak. thus, if you get a degree online it would be impossible to be recognized by the ministry of education in Morocco.
Hassan Posted 2009-04-22
While reading your article, I got the impression at times that it was about Tunisia or Senegal or Egypt – these are the countries that were able to develop e-learning and knew how to make it valuable. I went over the text in your article several times, and it is well and good about Morocco. In my continuation, there are two cases of examples that could clear things up for you on this subject…
Hassan Posted 2009-04-22
(Continuation) Moroccan universities do not have the right to award national diplomas for public continuing education, which is largely comprised in distance learning. For example, the Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tanger, Tétouan, Morocco offers a distance-learning masters (M1) in information sciences and technology with a focus in Applied Computer Science and Enterprise Management (MIAGE). (http://foad.refer.org/rubrique42.html) This education is provided by a Moroccan university, but once the degree requirements are completed, they offer the students a Degree in the Higher Specialised Study Cycle (DCESS) MIAGE. This university degree has no value on Moroccan territory in the eyes of our administration. On the other hand, students have the right to the same M1 education for a national French degree. This brings us to my second example: The French degree also has NO value in the eyes of the Moroccan administration. The laws concerning equivalencies in Morocco were amended 3 July 2003 with Article 11, which obliges each equivalency applicant to provide evidence of his residency in the country awarding the degree. (http://site.voila.com/equivalence/equivalence/equivalence_au_Maroc_Non.pdf) Our laws to do not specify at any point that there are to be distance learning degrees – the law ignores those degrees. Ironically, in Tunisia on 28 March 2002, one year before the Moroccan law, Article 25 was devoted to distance learning, simplifying the equivalency procedures. They do not require a certificate of residency!!! (http://site.voila.fr/equivalence/equivalence/equivalence_au_Tunise_OK.pdf) Do the comparison! You can now understand my surprise in reading such propagandist articles. –Sincerely
redouane Posted 2009-04-25
Salam alikum. I am looking for an e-learning course of a master in a Moroccan university. I have a nice experience with e-learning as I have received a diploma from Germany but I need a master please help me.
znagui Posted 21 days ago
Hello everyone- I have a masters degree in international business. I got this degree after getting a technical degree in business management without ever having a bac, but just an equivalency from the Ministry of Education. Now the Ministry of Education is requiring that I have a bac. What should I do? -Thank you
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