Morocco’s Private Schools Threaten 5% Tuition Hike Amid Tax Increase on Teachers

The 2023 Finance Act has increased the amount of the withholding tax from 17 to 30% for part-time teachers in private education and vocational training. The measure has been in effect since January 1, 2023 and requires private schools to make this 30% withholding, i.e. a surcharge of 13% compared to last year, reports Challenge.

For the Federation of Private Education (FEP) of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco (CGEM), this increase in IT will lead to an increase of more than 6% in the payroll cost of establishments, currently estimated at 65-70%. A situation that will force establishments to also review tuition fees upwards by around 5%, notes the FEP, recalling that part-time teachers make up more than 60% of the staff of private schools.

"Last November, we were alerting the government to the impact such a tax measure could have on tuition fees in private schools...," deplores Noureddine Akkouri, president of the National Federation of Parents’ Associations in Morocco (FNAPEM), adding that "this increase in tuition fees that schools will try to impose on Moroccan families would be detrimental to the economic situation of households, which is already very difficult".