Morocco’s head of government Aziz Akhannouch is asking striking teachers to come back to work, promising to improve certain provisions of their status as national education civil servants and saying that he has set up a ministerial commission to address their concerns.
The announcement Monday at a public meeting of MPs and elected representatives from the three majority parties comes in a response to national strikes by schoolteachers as a result of implementation of a controversial new law. The ongoing nationwide strike has caused major disruptions to the normal school schedule and educational institutions, causing teachers to be absent, students to stay home, and classes to be suspended.
Teachers in Morocco have expressed deep dissatisfaction with the new law, which they consider unfair and detrimental to their profession. They argue that the law fails to address long-standing issues in the educational sector, exacerbating tensions and highlighting glaring injustices.
Among their laundry list of concerns are the lack of salary increases, unfulfilled promises of bonuses and benefits, and the unequal treatment of contract teachers as compared to teachers affiliated with the ministry. Other areas of concern include the promotion structure, teaching hours, and removal of the age condition for the entrance exam.
The ministry of education held nationwide discussions with 21,000 instructors, over 33,000 students, and over 20,000 families, according to Akhannouch, in order to develop an education reform plan to serve as the basis for the creation of a “pioneer school” that has yielded positive results in helping 63,000 pupils to significantly improve their levels.
The essence of any improvement consists in guaranteeing the quality of education, and achieving tangible results depends essentially on breaking the cycle of school drop-outs and glaringly poor learning outcomes.
Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, has emphasized the need for collaborative development of the national education civil servant status, involving input from stakeholders citing an agreement between the parties on January 14, of this year. While the new status cannot address all demands, it will provide a framework for open dialogue.
The ministerial commission will be composed of the Minister of Education Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of Economic Inclusion and Employment Younes Sekkouri, and Minister in charge of the budget, Fouzi Lekjaa.