Chapter 6: The Moroccan Education System: Facing the Challenges of Globalization

Education in Morocco has always provoked passionate debate surrounding the choice of a model of society that can reconcile, at the same time, the preservation of cultural identity focused on religion and the need for openness and social and economic development of the country. With the legacy of a weak and discriminatory colonial legacy in education matters, the independent Morocco had a mission to structure the education sector. The education reforms have often been the subject of political discord between the autocratic power and the national parties. Several generations have paid the price. With political openness in 1998, education knew a renewed interest and an unprecedented frank commitment of the political, labor-union, and educational components. A National Charter for Education is approved which is the roadmap for future reforms. Fifteen years after the implementation of this charter, Morocco, despite considerable efforts and some successes, continues to show an alarming delay in enrollment, literacy, and relevance of education to the needs of the economy. The stagnation in human development is, of course, due to the failure of the education system. We believe that the main causes of these repeated failures lie in the hesitations to adopt a project of democratic society opened in modernity and including the universal values of justice, tolerance, transparency, and secularism—a society of educated and creative citizens, not ignorant, submissive, and easy-to-handle servants. Education in public schools must integrate these universal values from an early age, contrary to current methods, often locked into a single schema and an authoritarian thinking. The mix of cultures related to globalization and induced through the free flow of ideas and information can be an opportunity to catch up and adjust the system to align the path of global development. Efforts made by the government to conquer the digital world as well as the confidence and stability of political and social life in the country give hope that such a feat can be achieved.