Moroccan Students Excel in Top French Engineering School Exams

As in previous years, Moroccan students have brilliantly passed the competitive exams of French engineering schools in 2021, reports Le Figaro. In total, 160 Moroccan students, including 110 (who are following the engineering cycle) are pursuing their studies at the École Polytechnique. "Passing the competitive exam was no more difficult for me than for a French student, I was very well prepared," says Mohammed El Asri, a 21-year-old Moroccan student, an engineering student at Télécom Paris, and also a former student of the Benguérir high school in Lydex, located near Marrakech.

According to Campus France, Moroccans are the first community to come and study in France, with 44,933 students in 2020-2021, 13% of whom are enrolled in engineering schools. "In Morocco, obtaining a French engineering degree is seen as a passport to join the ruling elite. Moroccans who have gone through Centrale or Polytechnique can work as engineers but also start businesses, run a large company, go into politics," decodes Philippe Dufourcq, deputy general manager of CentraleSupélec.

Before joining France, Moroccan students receive solid training in mathematics and physics, punctuated by numerous preparatory classes scattered throughout the kingdom. "Moroccan students are very well trained in mathematics and physics, their level is incredible," notes Gaëlle Le Goff, director of international relations at the École Polytechnique. "When I joined a prep class in France, I had already assimilated in high school in Morocco many courses given in the first semester of prep," testifies Mossaab Moustaghit, a student at Ensea de Cergy and president of the Association of Moroccans in the grandes écoles (AMGE), holder of a Moroccan baccalaureate in science and mathematics.

Moroccan students "stand out by winning prizes or competitions. They generate a good team dynamic," says Gaëlle Le Goff. As an example: at the start of the school year, Issam Tauil and Ayman Echagraoui, two Moroccan students from Polytechnique, won gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad.