The strategic vision of the 2015-2030 reform advocated in its recommendations to recruit 15,000 teacher-researchers by 2030, to strengthen research structures and prepare the next generation.
Scientific research in Morocco is progressing slowly. The Kingdom devotes only 0.75% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to scientific research. The strategic vision of the 2015-2030 reform had already recommended in 2015 to reach 1% in the short term, 1.5% in 2025 and 2% in 2030. This is revealed by the National Authority for the evaluation of the system of education, training and scientific research (CSEFRS) in a report published this year entitled “Scientific and technological research in Morocco”. R&D resources by the private sector (business) accounted for 30.2% of total R&D resources at the national level in 2016. This is almost the same percentage as in 2010 (29.9%). The census of the various call for projects programs in Morocco from 2008 to 2017 shows that there were 14 calls, totaling an overall amount of nearly 968.8 million dirhams, i.e. an average budget per call of 69.2 million dirhams. A total of 1,417 projects were submitted over 9 years. There is a success rate of nearly 26%, or about 4 projects submitted for only one selected. The average budget is 2.58 million dirhams per project selected.
Only 1,508 researchers per million inhabitants
In Morocco, the number of human resources in scientific research is still low. Indeed, the number of researchers per million inhabitants is only 1,508, ie about three times less than that of Malaysia (4,750) and about six times less than that of the Czech Republic (10,124). Moreover, this human capital is not very renewable despite the various public initiatives launched to strengthen it. Already, the strategic vision of the 2015-2030 reform advocated in its recommendations to recruit 15,000 teacher-researchers by 2030, to strengthen research structures and prepare the next generation. The distribution of research staff by type of institution shows that 77% of this staff exists at the level of public universities. Furthermore, it is important to point out that the scientific productivity of universities remains very low with an average of 0.37 publications per teacher-researcher each year. Another observation: the body of teacher-researchers is aging. 60% of them are over 50 years old, while 28% are between 40 and 49 years old. 28% are between 40 and 49 years old. “While advancing in age reflects long experience, both pedagogical and academic, it can result in a slackening of commitment to research in a context that is not very favorable to scientific production. To this is added the fact that the criterion of research is, relatively, little considered as a high requirement in the advancement of the career of the teacher”, notes the report. The distribution of teacher-researchers by field of study in 2018 reveals that 27% of them profess in science, 19% in letters and human sciences, 14% in legal, economic and social sciences, 11% in medicine and pharmacy, 9% in science and technology and the remaining 20% are shared between the other fields of study. Regarding the doctoral cycle, the ratio of the number of doctoral theses defended compared to the number of doctoral students is quite low (5.7% in 2017), compared to other countries. For example, in France, four doctoral students out of ten obtain their doctorates every two years. “The doctoral cycle in Morocco is visibly becoming a bottleneck, where the numbers are accumulating without the rhythm of defenses following”, deplores the Council.
A roadmap to glimpse strategic perspectives
Morocco faces the challenge of developing strategic directions for research. Five years after the adoption of the strategic vision of the 2015-2030 reform, the promulgation of the new framework law, the adoption of the law creating the National Council for Scientific Research, the development of a road is essential to glimpse the strategic perspectives for the development of scientific research and a planning of its promotion at least by 2030. Highly qualified human resources and skills are the spearhead of any research system. Thus, an overhaul of their statutes is necessary as well as that of the reference frameworks of competences and the systems of gratification, in order to attract and retain the national talents of researchers. To ensure the succession of researchers, the Council considers that the quality of doctoral training and close, high-level supervision are essential. One of the mechanisms for revitalizing the production of the next generation is the secure contribution of international cooperation to the training of doctoral students in priority areas to be developed in universities.