Low pass rate in 2008 Moroccan baccalaureate exams

2008-06-18

Less than two-fifths of bac candidates passed the first session of exams in Morocco. The second round of testing for those with average scores between 8 and 10 is scheduled to begin July 1st.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 18/06/08

[www.men.gov.ma] Only 38.11% of Moroccan bac candidates successfully passed the first session in early June. Retakes are scheduled for July 1st-3rd.

Some 83,000 pupils (38.11%), over half of them girls, have been successful in the first session of Morocco's baccalaureate exams, the ministry of education announced on Tuesday (June 18th). The pass rate varied according to the type of baccalaureate taken. As usual, students taking arts subjects fared less well, with only 24.34% passing. Those taking science baccalaureates had more success, with a pass rate of 49.52%. Non-affiliated candidates performed worst of all, with only 2,156 out of 18,109 (12%) making the grade.

The highest average scored during this first session was 18.71/20.

The ministry of education said it expected the national pass rate to rise after 183,106 candidates who scored between 8 and 10 in the first session retake the exams on July 1st-3rd.

The national pass rate has remained virtually unchanged over the last few years, teacher Abdelkebir Moudenni told Magharebia.

"Last year, for instance, the figure was 39.1% - a very low rate which reflects the standard of our baccalaureate candidates. A lot of people are thus finding themselves excluded from higher education because of a failing education system," he said.

"[Students] manage to get by for years without reaching the level required, and then they get caught out when they come to the baccalaureate," teacher Samira Brikech agreed.

For their part, students complained that some of the exams were too difficult for the time allotted.

"I revised all year and got an average of 15 out of 20 in class, but I had big problems on the exam because the questions focused mainly on general knowledge and analysis, particularly in philosophy and English, which is something teachers don't instil into their pupils," Meriem Baki told Magharebia.

"I passed, but without a good enough grade to enable me to go to a good college or institute of higher education," she added, her eyes filled with tears.

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Meriem's friend Salima also passed, but without working very hard. "I’m not a good student like Meriem, who spends all her time studying. But I still managed to pass, because the questions tested candidates' powers of analysis," she said.

Teacher Mourad Fellah said the exam system, particularly for arts subjects, has moved away from rote learning towards a focus on analysis.

"For years they made the mistake of setting exams based solely on the material students learned in class. That encouraged cheating and didn't allow baccalaureate candidates to exercise the powers of analysis which will serve them in good stead in their further education or work," he told Magharebia. "But now things have changed, even if pupils don’t like it."

The final results, including those from the second session, will be known after examiners convene on July 12th-13th to discuss the results.

This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.
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saidani miloudi Posted 2008-06-18

"I've asked most of my students who've passed successfully their bac this session" a teacher confessed,"how they feel" --"We feel puzzled because scholarships are scarce , work is unavailable and no clear future is awaiting us" --"There are only ITA Institutes to go to for a useless diploma that a water carrier can reject" May Allah protect us from evil...

mehdy Posted 2008-06-19

The cause of the failure of the students in the exam or what we call failure is the private classes which have become a fashion like stylish clothes and a haircut. Teachers fail to present some questions to the students. Some students study specific questions and neglect the curriculum. He also doesn’t explain the lesson or lessons in a good way in order to compel students to take private classes. They have become a fashion not only in our country but in all Arab countries. It is a phenomenon which has a negative impact on the student. It also creates some confusion for the student about the lesson of the curriculum that is some unbalance between the book which he must fully study and the private class wherein he receives some simple observations. This is the problem of the student. When the student doesn’t read the book in a deep way, he might fall in a big error since most questions are extracted from between the lines of the book which are ignored by the students by relying on private classes offered by the teacher. The student is the victim and he is the careless in doing his work besides the lack of seriousness of some teachers, we don’t say all of them. We have teachers in our country who have the skill of good teaching and explaining to the student during the class. This makes private classes unnecessary but they are rather a waste of time for the student in reducing the lessons in the programme. I hope that you will accept my humble suggestion. Thanks to everyone who reads my comment…The author Mehdi Ait Messaoud.

Mr statistic.men Posted 2008-06-19

Bac 2001 99% pass rate Bac 2002 98% Bac 2003 88% Bac 2004 78% Bac 2005 68% Bac 2006 58% Bac 2007 48% Bac 2008 38% Bac 2009 28% Bac 2010 18% all right.

NinaTeXD Posted 2008-06-19

By God, this is a shame. :(

مايا Posted 2008-06-19

The winners in the 2008 baccalaureate exam for the city of Algiers.

sophia Posted 2008-06-19

Is it possible to know if the averages are lower this year? I heard something good mentioned, but I still do not know whether I will be allowed into the admission process for the grandes écoles!

xxxxxx Posted 2008-06-19

Education in Morocco has become very weak in view of the huge number of graduate students especially from university. Therefore, the Moroccan government has chosen this programme. We in the city of Terfaya suffer of many problems namely the director “Mostafa Ikerd” who implements the communist system and the system of Taliban. Salam.

تلميذة Posted 2008-06-20

The ministry of national education stated that it expected the national passing rate to increase because around 183,106 students from the candidates who received grades varying from 8 to 10 will have the right to sit for the second session on July 1. my brother or sister, I haven’t understood this paragraph well.

acharif moulay abdellah bouskraoui Posted 2008-06-21

I would rather have a handful of competent young people than to have the success rate raised such that tomorrow the incompetent young people take to demonstrations in front of parliament to find jobs. So, game over. Only the competent ones who make an effort will succeed. Being incompetent and still succeeding will not solve our problems. On the contrary, the other students are going to say, “What is the point in working if even the mediocre people are going to compete for your spot.” So, I would rather have a handful of worker bees than millions of bugs.

fadwa Posted 2008-06-22

There is nothing to say.

^salah Posted 2008-06-22

Salam alaikum my brother. What is the cause of the failure of many students in the national exam?

al makfalji Posted 2008-06-22

Hi Everyone, Please, I would like to know the percentage that each person with honours got on the baccalaureate exam in Morocco. Thank you

mlle chocolat Posted 2008-06-24

Hi Everybody, I would like to say that frankly there are no figures or percentages that are accurate. They do whatever they like. The grade according to their feelings and they give the grade that pleases them. This is unjust. This is third year that I failed the baccalaureate exam. I hate studying because of this wretched bac! >:0

تلميذة Posted 2008-06-25

My brother or sister I didn’t understand this paragraph well which I wrote in the first comment.

LAKHLIFI Amina Posted 2008-06-26

Hi Everybody, Just like a lot of young people, I would like to take the baccalaureate exam and, praise be to God, pass it with honours. Okay, I would like to tell you what I think about this semester. Because I studied science with a focus on computers, I am going to talk about this subject. The material was easy, even banal, especially when it came to mathematics and English. As for physics, I worked on very difficult exercises, but the exam was a big surprise: it was so simple that I did not manage to answer all the questions. The other surprise was that I put in most of my work on mathematics. Yep.

Ketty Posted 2008-07-02

Hello, Please, I am in a hurry. I am trying to find out if they still have the grade “O” for the 2008 baccalaureate exam. I would also like to know what happens to students who failed a subject on the exam without any official excuse. Please accept my sincerest thanks. I am in a hurry to find out the response as soon as possible. This is very important to me.

professeur mokhtar Posted 2008-07-07

Hi, Pardon me, but the pass rate for Morocco’s 2008 baccalaureate exams is less than 19%. This is haram! What is up with this 38%?

نينا Posted 2008-07-08

I am very scared. I am crying. I want to make my parents happy. May God grant success to everyone. May God increase our reward.

ilham Posted 2008-07-09

Hi Everybody, I passed my bac with honours this year, have an overall average of 14.27. Please, do you have any news, am I able to take part in the admissions process at the university for general medicine (either ENSA in Fez or ENSAM in Meknes)? Please respond.

رحمون محمد الطاهر زكرياء Posted 2008-07-09

I hope that you will help me with the grades of my exams and bring joy to my mother. She is constantly upset. She doesn’t talk to anyone. Please.

iliass Posted 2008-07-10

I do not know what happened: I am the top of my class and for three years now I have got 17s, but, when the results were announced, I was shocked. I did well enough as it was. But, in short, I don’t understand this at all: I was sure that I did well, but the questions were so trivial… Indeed, that is exactly what it was. The graders did all the work. I am not sorry about getting a good enough grade, because I worked hard like I always do. And, I will keep it up because I will achieve my goal.

noureddine el hakkouni Posted 2008-07-12

Hi Everybody, I am a Bac graduate. I got my Bac this year. I got a 13.34. I am sure that I am a victim of the grading, especially with regards to mathematics. All my answers were right, but, in the end, I got a 17.75 on it. This is intolerable......

zak°°°zak Posted 2008-07-12

Well Hello Everybody, I am a boy from Oujda. Thank God I got my Bac, and of course it was with honours. Well, in any case, everything is going fine, but I have a problem: my friend studied with me and, even though he really had the ability to get his Bac, he did not graduate!!! This means it was either bad luck or the teacher are not able to grade!!! This is really weird. Moreover, the exams were somewhat easy!!! I do not think there is any reason behind this. Pfff!

Abdel Posted 2008-07-12

I did not get my Bac this year, and this is my third year in a row taking it. I have seen a lot of things that have really struck me; this year, someone who did not go to class the whole year long passed the exam with flying colours! Is that fair?

oujdia Posted 2008-07-14

Hi My Dear Friends, So, personally, I did not get my Bac the first session. Praise be to God that there is a second session. God willing, I hope it will go well. But, you know the results for the 2008 baccalaureate exams, especially those for the social sciences, were catastrophic. The grades were unbelievable. The most apparent problem is that it seems that the students who did not work hard—the ones that did not go to class on a daily basis—passed. This was really bothersome. But, what can you do? Everybody has their own fate and everybody has their own luck. What is essential is that we do not give up hope. So long as there is life, there is hope. We ask God that He helps us. If we do not pass, it is not the end of the world.

saaaad Posted 2008-07-15

Honestly, all the students who worked all year long got their Bac with honours. But, something bad went on during the exam and we need to fight against it together.

karima Posted 2008-07-17

Hi Everybody. Congratulations on the Bac!

issame karatmane Posted 2008-07-18

In spite of everything, things keep on moving along. Despite failures, there are still victories.

maria Posted 2008-07-21

Hey all and congratulations to everybody who got their bac! Congratulations to me too! What a shame for all the students who made an effort and didn’t get it. Overall, the results this year were poor. Until next year!

samira Posted 2008-07-29

The baccalaureate exam was very difficult.

autmane chnika Posted 2008-07-29

I think that rerunning television shows limits the number of viewers.

maryam Posted 2008-07-30

I think that the teachers in Morocco are quality, especially those at the technical branch of lah yamarha dar. They do every thing they can to teach us accounting, financial math, state organisation and so on. I do not know if it is just accidental, but, believe me, the problem is with the students: they are more interested in festivals, music, the Internet and not studying or doing exercises. In my opinion, I got my Bac with honours just fine, and I hope to find professors at the technical college of the same quality. As for ISCAE, though, it is difficult even for a student who got honours, as it require even further proficiency in economic-oriented mathematics and general culture and we do not have time to research this information: we were preparing for the Bac. And, of course, you have to be one of the bourgeois in order to not have problems with lacking the financial means.

samir Posted 2008-08-03

I graduated with my Bac in 2008. I would like to say that the new programme is overloaded. And, it is no cake walk to do all the subjects in second year of the baccalaureate studies.

ibkqsdkugsqdf Posted 2008-08-13

You wretches! You are worthless and hopeless! How is it that you want to help our country become a better state? This is lamentable.

rawla Posted 2008-08-18

It is true: every since we implemented the new baccalaureate programme the pass rate has gotten weaker and weaker. Moreover, the harmful impact the supplemental courses have on the students should not be forgotten, making them lazier. And, given I had the same experience, I would indeed like to tell the future baccalaureates to opt for a course of study appropriate to their skills and to work hard, because, without a bac with honours, you cannot do anything. (It will be impossible to get into college.) -Thank you

HOUDA Posted 2008-08-23

I am really terribly sorry for those who did not get their bacs. But, honestly, there is no future here in Morocco. I got my bac with a 15.31 average and I was not accepted into any schools, especially not ENSA and ENSAM, which only respectively accept 15.75 and 16 and up. Now, what I would like to say is that the hard sciences are a good field of study, but it is difficult to pass the admissions process, especially when it comes to general medicine and dentistry. You need SVT’s programme, ENSA’s or ENSAM’s preparatory classes and math. For us PCs there is nothing. I am truly in despair.

yassine Posted 2008-08-31

We thank you for your site.

flower Posted 2008-09-16

I would like to hear your thoughts about those who got a 7 on the regional exam. Can they pass the bac exams? If so, I would like to know under what circumstances they passed. —Thank you in advance

rania Posted 2008-10-07

i want to answer some of the questions you ask yourselves: why few students get their bac? of course those who fail would say the exam was difficult or that teachers didn't do their work. the reality my friends is that it is the fashion to let students pass with a 6/20 or 8/20. they accumulate weaknesses and can never recover. the policy is to please parents and students and make them believe it's ok. can anyone succeed with this mark? you may spend many years in the "terminale class" and not get that bac. THEY TELL YOU A BIG LIE MY FRIENDS AND YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!! the solution? they should diversify the options to the students. create other schools that prepare for another kind of baccalauréat, rather than just literature and science!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE THINK!

no3aim Posted 2008-10-17

I wish to pass but mechanic engineering was very difficult.

amal Posted 2008-10-28

Salam. I am asking about subjects of the bacalaureate for independent candidates: applied arts. Please, if you know them, call me.thank you very much.

Contact information removed by the editor.

سعاد Posted 2009-01-06

What are passing rate expectations for the baccalaureate exams 2009?

hoda Posted 2009-02-05

I congratulate all the students who passed the baccalaureate. I pray God to grant success to students who will sit for the exam this year.

سفيان Posted 2009-02-07

Excellent for the successful pupils.

said Posted 2009-03-08

Education in Morocco is a fat lie, a facade, a massacre of our generations and their means. Our education is based on cheating and fraud either on the part of the students, on the part of the professors or on the part of the people in charge. The exams are but a brief moment of truth for oneself, a reflection on our true faces, which everyone refuses to admit. They love to sit back and believe in the lies that they have been believing in for several years, in the grades they did not deserve but got from professors who wanted to hide their cheating in the class so that they could get paid for their tutoring sessions.

jamal Posted 2009-03-30

i share one of the views stated above that a competent elite could better make the difference in our beloved country than millions of shallow-minded graduates. so let us be realistic and hope for quality rather than quantity.

صلاح Posted 2009-05-06

I will sit for the baccalaureate 2009. It is noticed on this site that participants didn't mention one of the causes of failure in the baccalaureate which is the weak grade in the regional exam. I hope that you answer my question.

abdsamade Posted 2009-05-15

Oh Lord, I study this year in the baccalaureate and hope to pass ok. Ok, pray for me, amen.

ملاك Posted 2009-05-20

The main problem now lies with teachers. You find that the teacher of the second year of the baccalaureate in physics, mathematics or English incompetent, incapable to communicate information to the pupil or even control them. This makes pupils do a special effort (this effort needs to be sharpened by the teacher. But unfortunately the latter lacks training himself). You face the same problem whenever you go to Morocco. This is shown by the fact that Morocco is very backward in education. But ultimately it is the pupil who is blamed.

lobbiz Posted 2009-05-26

I wish everyone success and that the national exam this year 2009 will be accessible to all the students.

hassan Posted 2009-06-15

In my opinion, we students are the ones who need to work hard. Let us be clear about this: we need to work day and night continuously and with programmes to follow. Intelligence and good minds only atrophy.

naoual Posted 2009-06-15

Hello- The truth is that in Morocco, there are teachers - especially in the public sector - who are competent. However, their problem is that they do not know how to deliver their knowledge to the students. We thus end up with students who are forced to attend courses and do not understand anything, and this is even if they are attentive and do their best to succeed. What is hard is that at the end of the year they have to take exams and, indeed, pass them. People with the means to do so, pass them because they take tutoring course and, well, there we go. On the other hand, those who do not have the mean, become martyrs. I hope that the education system will not neglect this point and will manage to find a solution to this problem. -Thank you

جنة الفردوس Posted 2009-06-16

I am expecting results of the baccalaureate very anxiously. My scare is compounded by the low passing rates. Even if I am a good student, news rumoured say that not everyone who works hard passes. This terrifies me. We ask God for an outlet and success.

Med_moi Posted 2009-06-17

Honestly, the exam was an analytical one. I think it would be better for our future to study for this type of exam because in France, higher education required analytical exams. This exam is a good lesson for our teachers and a great step forward for Moroccan education.

mehdi R Posted 2009-06-18

This is because of the damned teachers who just want to take our money in return for giving good grades!!! And, it is also because of the difficulty of the exams! They think we are geniuses!!! This is not a good way to raise the pass rate. This way, Morocco will always remain the last in education!!!

نوسة Posted 2009-06-29

Is it possible to know my result whether I passed or not? Please. I will die. Do any of you darlings know a site for results on the internet where they are published on the net, show me where? My darlings just for one day and I am present.

lamya Posted 2009-07-21

hello now i have finiched my study in university i got my baccaloriat at 2006.all what i want to tell about study that is the problem from most of the cheater because, they are unable to explain the lessen to pipls very well, mains some of them not all

هشام العمراني Posted 2009-07-30

Peace, mercy and blessings of God be upon you. I ask you with respect to address me to a teacher to explain the lessons of the second year of the baccalaureate.

hanene Posted 2009-09-05

Please, I would like Algeria's bac exam results for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

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