Marrakech Court Orders Private School to Release Student Records Amid Tuition Dispute

The plaintiff filed the case with the court on July 27 and wanted the justice to help him retrieve from his son’s school the certificate of withdrawal, the attendance data, his son’s school certificate, his books and school supplies. He explained that his son was in a private school and that for this new school year, he was no longer able to meet the charges due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on his finances. But the institution simply refused to grant his request.

After deliberation, the president of the court of first instance of Marrakech considered that the defendant’s non-execution of his duties "was inappropriate, especially since the legislator has created legal and judicial procedures that the defendant must follow to claim his right from the plaintiff, but without depriving the son of his most essential constitutional right, namely the right to education". For the court, the fundamental rights of the child take precedence over all other considerations, reports Hespress.

Despite the court decision, if the director concerned refuses to comply, the order can be considered as an authorization that may allow the parent to enroll his child in another school of his choice. Several dozen parents have recently turned to the courts to obtain withdrawal certificates from private institutions that refused to give them to them. The decision did not make all these managers give in. Some persisted until they obtained the tuition fees, the subject of the dispute.

This dispute between the two parties could not be settled amicably. The Ministry of National Education was unable to resolve the differences, forcing parents to turn to the courts to prevail, the same source specifies.