Emergency measures launched to improve Moroccan state schools

2009-03-18

In response to widespread complaints over the state of Morocco's public schools, the government allocated 3 billion dirhams to school improvements over the next two years.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 18/03/09

[File] Parents hope government-funded renovations will revitalise Morocco's ailing public schools.

King Mohammed VI launched a nationwide programme Tuesday (March 17th) to refurbish Morocco's ailing schools. The three billion-dirham initiative, announced in Fez, is aimed at "improving conditions for pupils at state schools and the quality of community services, and also creating more sports facilities, green space and cultural activities within schools".

The government will refurbish 15,300 schools over a two-year period. Three hundred boarding schools will be renovated with modern equipment and all schools will be guaranteed electricity, sewage facilities and drinking water.

Education Minister Ahmed Akhchichine said the programme forms part of a 2009-2012 emergency plan aimed at speeding up the pace of reform within the education system. "The goal is to make schools more attractive, in order to restore people's confidence in Moroccan schools and help them fulfil their purpose," he commented.

The emergency plan was drawn up last year in response to complaints from parents and teachers about the state of the nation's schools.

Teacher Hamza Moulhim told Magharebia that the renovation programme will enable pupils to study in more favourable conditions. Schools' lack of necessary facilities harms children's education, he said. "Some schools, especially those in rural areas and on the outskirts of the big cities, lack basic amenities such as water and electricity. It's time to find ways of improving these terrible conditions."

Another teacher, Halima Baadi, said the refurbishment programme may have particular benefit for girls: "In the past, a lot of families in rural areas didn't send their daughters to school because they didn't even have toilets."

Hamid Ktiri, a bank manager, said the government needs to step in to save state schools, which are currently being shunned by the middle class. In its efforts to provide education for all, he argues, the government has neglected the quality of education.

"The level has fallen so low that people are now flocking to the private sector," Ktiri commented.

Karim Bertali has two children in a state school. He told Magharebia that if he had enough money, he would send them to a private school instead. "At state schools there is only a basic minimum of facilities for children," he said. "They're also so overcrowded that teachers can't focus on the needs of all children."

The Ministry of National Education says the government is determined to improve the quality of education provided by state schools, through material improvements and also by boosting administrators' skills in planning and management.