In a significant development in Moroccan higher education, Azzeddine El Midaoui, the Minister of Higher Education, has taken the decisive step of dismissing Ahmed Kadim from his position as the dean of the Faculty of Arabic Language at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech. This action comes in the wake of audio recordings that have surfaced, allegedly featuring Kadim in intimate discussions and sexual innuendos with a woman described as a university student.
The content of these leaked recordings has sparked outrage across both academic and public arenas, leading to urgent calls for accountability. The discussions captured in the recordings purportedly include offers to facilitate enrollment in master’s and doctoral programs in exchange for personal relationships, alongside requests for physical intimacy and invitations to meet at private locations. Such revelations prompted the Ministry of Higher Education to act swiftly, initiating an investigation into the matter.
Born in 1969 in Zagora, Kadim had held the deanship since June 2018 and is recognized for his expertise in rhetoric and argumentation. Following the release of the recordings, he made a public statement on Facebook, acknowledging the authenticity of the audio but asserting that the conversations occurred in 2008 and 2009. He claimed that the woman had first reached out to him during that time, expressing a psychological crisis related to her feelings for him and suggesting that her departure from the university was due to this attachment. Kadim argues that his responses aimed to encourage her return to her studies, emphasizing that his intention was purely educational.
In his defense, Kadim recounted that the woman ultimately blocked him in 2009, only for him to later learn through a student that she was allegedly being used by a colleague to blackmail him. He stated that the student helped him erase the recordings in 2012, after which he discovered that another faculty member had kept a copy of the material. Kadim accused this colleague of malfeasance, alleging that he had released the recordings after eighteen years, casting them in a misleading light to undermine Kadim’s professional standing.
Furthermore, Kadim suggested that his dismissal may be linked to professional rivalries, citing a thesis associated with the accused professor that had been distributed among students, which he claimed was a violation that led to the thesis defense being blocked. He also alleged that a civil society organization had attempted to exploit the faculty by imposing publishing fees on students, asserting that he has documentation to support these claims.
In a pointed critique of Minister El Midaoui, Kadim expressed his discontent with the lack of consultation regarding his dismissal, stating that the ministry acted without verifying the facts. He concluded with a veiled threat, warning the minister that he could reveal information that would be damaging to the university's reputation if necessary.
The Ministry of Higher Education has yet to release any further statements regarding this situation, and the investigation into the matter is ongoing. The public and academic communities are awaiting more information on how this controversy will unfold.
As reported by moroccoworldnews.com.
