Morocco Education Minister: Public Schools Can’t Absorb Private School Crisis

There are a number of parents who do not want to pay the full tuition fees due to the suspension of face-to-face classes. The students concerned will have to continue their studies elsewhere. But according to the minister, "the public alternative brandished by the parents is not possible".

Before the parliamentarians, Saaïd Amzazi declared that a "migration from the private to the public sector should not take place as this would mean that the State has failed to find a solution to this crisis". In addition, he stressed that "the public school is not ready to accommodate these large numbers coming from private schools". This would amount to "jeopardizing the architecture of private education", reports Aujourd’hui le Maroc.

The only possible solution to this crisis is to "find common ground between parents and private schools". The Ministry of Education can only play the mediation card in this matter. This is why the minister regrets the absence of a law to regulate private education in Morocco, especially with regard to tuition fees and insurance. He urged the commission to work to "have this law adopted before the end of July". This will be a major achievement, as was the case with the framework law adopted just before the summer vacation last year. All this in a "participatory approach with the parties concerned", the minister specified. But the representatives of the sector do not seem to see things this way.

According to the newspaper, the association representing the sector has announced its intention to go on strike to denounce the current situation. If nothing is done to restore peace, the next school year could be compromised in the private sector, as in addition to the tug-of-war with some parents, private education is going through a financial crisis that could lead to the bankruptcy of many establishments.