Morocco Kicks Off the Academic Year with a Focus on Quality Education
The new academic year in Morocco has officially commenced with the motto "For a Quality Public School for All," emphasizing the urgent need to enhance educational quality and expand the leadership institutions project. This launch comes amidst several challenges, including the rising costs of books and protests from educational staff seeking to address their grievances. The reform initiative aims to bolster academic excellence and universalize the model of leadership institutions within primary and secondary education, while also confronting pressing issues such as administrative burdens and the need to evaluate the success of these reforms based on their tangible impacts.
Challenges such as improving literacy and numeracy, motivating teachers, addressing overcrowding, and curbing school dropouts are at the forefront of this academic year. There is a significant emphasis on digitization and the incorporation of artificial intelligence, necessitating a nationwide mobilization and productive social dialogue. The Minister of National Education, Pre-school, and Sports, Mohamed Saad Barada, inaugurated the 2026-2027 academic year at Ibn Battuta Primary School in the municipality of Amir, which falls under the regional management of Salé, close to the capital Rabat. More than 8.2 million students are expected to return to classrooms this year.
Recent official data indicates a notable expansion in the leadership institutions project as part of the 2022-2026 roadmap. The total number of primary schools participating has reached 6,753, reflecting an increase of 2,125 from the previous year, while the number of leadership middle schools has risen to 1,358, with an addition of 572 institutions. While the new academic year is centered on achieving educational quality and enhancing academic excellence, it also highlights the pivotal role of families in supporting their children's educational journey. According to Abdelilah Dhaman, the National Coordinator of the National Union of Education Employees affiliated with the National Labor Union, the school year is characterized by a balance between a timely start and the hurdles of successful reform. He notes that the Moroccan public school system is at a critical juncture, where reforms must transition from project and program levels to real impacts on educational quality and the working conditions of teaching staff, particularly as we approach the end of the government's term.
Dhaman stated that the leadership institutions project has emerged as a key aspect of educational reform, having evolved from a pilot phase to gradual expansion, with plans to generalize the model in primary education by the 2027-2028 academic year, alongside its implementation in middle education. He expressed concerns regarding the project’s execution and the challenges faced by teachers and administrative staff due to the overwhelming administrative burdens without tangible incentives.
Moreover, Dhaman emphasized that the objective evaluation of the school year should not solely rely on its administrative regularity or the number of institutions involved in new projects, but rather on the actual quality of education, the reduction of social and regional disparities, improved working conditions, and the mitigation of dropout rates and overcrowding. Current official reports reveal the scale of the public education system, which encompasses over 6.7 million students, 12,258 educational institutions, nearly 289,000 teachers, and upwards of 233,000 classrooms. These figures indicate that any genuine and impactful reform is contingent upon the state’s capacity to provide balanced human resources, infrastructure, and necessary equipment across various regions and fields. Thus, the challenge lies not merely in initiating reforms, but in ensuring their sustainability and measuring their actual effects, especially considering that the Moroccan educational system grapples with structural accumulations that cannot be remedied solely through limited projects or temporary interventions.
Furthermore, Dhaman articulated that several challenges loom over the new academic year, primarily concerning educational quality and the effectiveness of reforms in enhancing the educational system and its internal outputs. There is an urgent need to improve literacy and numeracy skills, especially in the early years, as these are fundamental indicators of reform success, rather than merely increasing the number of institutions classified as leadership schools.
Another critical indicator involves the widespread implementation of leadership institutions without compromising quality for quantity. The initiative includes positive elements such as academic support, regular assessments, and teacher training, but its expansion raises profound questions related to ensuring uniform quality across all institutions and avoiding the creation of a dual public school system with varying standards. The third indicator pertains to human resources; a quality school cannot be built without professionally stable and financially and morally motivated teachers, alongside addressing management challenges and ensuring equitable distribution among specialties and regions. Continued social dialogue and resolution of pending issues are essential to build trust within the educational system.
Additionally, the challenge of overcrowding and regional disparities, particularly between urban and rural areas and among institutions with varying levels of appeal, remains one of the most significant hurdles. Dhaman underscored that equal access to education does not inherently equate to equal learning opportunities. This necessitates a transition from merely providing a school seat to ensuring quality education for every child, regardless of their social or geographic context. Furthermore, school dropout rates represent a central challenge; it is inadequate to rely solely on remedial measures after difficulties arise, but rather, a proactive system for monitoring and providing social, psychological, and educational support is needed, particularly for the most vulnerable students. The new academic year also presents challenges related to digitization and artificial intelligence, according to Dhaman.
Dhaman noted that schools must adapt to digital transformation, not just by acquiring equipment and platforms but by genuinely building digital competencies among teachers and learners and establishing a clear ethical framework for utilizing artificial intelligence in education and assessment. He asserted that the central question this academic year is not how many institutions have benefited from this or that project, but rather what has genuinely changed in the classroom. Are students learning better? Have their reading, comprehension, and arithmetic skills improved? Have disparities between institutions decreased? Have working conditions for teachers improved? Are families more confident in public schools? These are the metrics that should guide evaluations of reform, rather than merely administrative achievement indicators.
In conclusion, Dhaman believes that the success of the new academic year necessitates genuine national mobilization, productive social dialogue, independent and regular assessments of reforms, accountability, and directing resources towards the real priorities of public education. He stressed that the Moroccan school system does not need more projects as much as it requires the continuity of reforms, stability in choices, the provision of conditions for success, and genuine listening to educational stakeholders, placing quality learning, equity, and equal opportunities at the core of all public educational policies.
As reported by aajeg.com.
