Moroccan Parents Clash with Private Schools over Tuition During Pandemic Closures

Certain private school groups are demanding that parents pay the full amount of tuition fees corresponding to the crisis period when the schools closed their doors, prioritizing distance learning. Fearing that their children’s administrative files will be taken hostage, parents have just seized the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The Federation of Parents’ and Guardians’ Associations has called, in several regions, on the Regional Academies of Education and Training (AREF) and the provincial directorates of the Ministry of National Education to "find a solution to this problem as soon as possible". It warns the private education establishments concerned by the tug of war "against any blackmail practices" aimed at "confiscating the children’s school certificates or preventing students from accessing the national exams for diploma levels". The Federation recalls that "these establishments have always benefited from increased tuition fees during the month of September for registration fees, while classes do not start until mid-September".

The reaction of the supervisory ministry is eagerly awaited to defuse the situation. Parents believe they could not pay tuition fees for distance learning courses, especially since according to them, "distance learning cannot be replaced by classroom teaching". In addition, according to some establishments, they have been content, during this crisis period, "to send documents on mobile phones, without any explanation to the children".

The Federation, considering that several students come from the middle class seriously impacted by the covid-19 crisis, "calls on school groups to show solidarity by canceling tuition fees or reducing them by 50% for the months of March, April, May and June, without requiring justification from parents".