2023-06-28 11:00:38
obstacles
The unemployment rate for graduates of open access universities increased by 18.7% compared to 8.5% for universities with regulated or limited access.
The Moroccan university is in bad shape. A few days ago, the head of government, Aziz Akhanouch, who spoke at the monthly session of general policy in the House of Representatives focusing on the theme of higher education, had pointed out the evils of universities, in particular the dropping out of studies, the increase in unemployed graduates and the low rate of educational supervision. The head of government indicated that “many obstacles still taint national universities, linked above all to the level of profitability and the lack of human resources, without forgetting certain strategic and organizational challenges”.
The rate of dropping out of university studies without obtaining a diploma in recent years has reached nearly 49%, said the head of government.
The unemployment rate for graduates of open access universities increased by 18.7% compared to 8.5% for universities with regulated or limited access. As for the rate of pedagogical supervision, this remains well below internationally recognized indicators, ie one professor for approximately 120 students in open access faculties.
Furthermore, Mr. Akhannouch also referred to the inefficiency of polydisciplinary faculties, a model widely criticized internationally. The Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research had issued several recommendations advocating the revision of this model. He spoke of the challenges posed by the retirement of 2,200 senior teachers by 2026.
The Chief Executive also pointed to the low impact of scientific research, whether in terms of the allocated budget (1.6% of the general budget for the years 2021 and 2022) or the number of researchers which does not exceed 1,708 per million inhabitants (against 2,916 researchers per million inhabitants in Brazil, for example). To remedy this situation, the government will work to address these issues within the framework of the strategic vision, established during the first year of its mandate, defining the steps necessary for the establishment of an inclusive Moroccan university, in harmony with national reforms, Mr. Akhannouch concluded.
Public universities have 1,130,182 students
The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, presented in September 2022 the main lines of the 2022-2023 academic year. The minister announced that the total number of students enrolled for the 2022-2023 academic year reached 1,238,000 students, an increase of 5.97% compared to the 2021-2022 academic year. In total, public universities have 1,130,182 students, an increase of 6.49% compared to the previous year.
Open-access public universities are still popular in Morocco. In total, 975,748 students, or 86% of the total workforce, are enrolled in open access establishments (+5.6% compared to the 2021-2022 academic year) and 154,433 in regulated access establishments (+ 12.3%). The Minister had also pointed out the increase in the reception capacity of the universities of about 20,000 new seats thanks to the extension projects carried out in several universities. Recall that the number of new registrants in public universities with open access was 257,882 for the 2021-2022 academic year. For establishments with regulated access, the number of new registrants was only 32,756.
Thus, the overall number of new registrants was 290,638. It should be noted that the total number of students in public universities had reached 1,061,256 for the year 2021-2022 against 989,899 in 2020-2021. In open access establishments, their number was 923,723 in 2021-2022 and 137,533 for regulated access establishments. Among the universities with the highest number of new registrants, Hassan II University in Casablanca comes first with 42,758 new registrants.
In second position, we find the Ibn Zohr University in Agadir with 38,884 new registrants. Then come Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech (35,767 new registrants), Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tetouan (28,906), Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University in Fez (26,571), Mohammed V University in Rabat (23,601), Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra (21,228) and Moulay Ismail University in Meknes (20,820).
Teacher shortage
The sector is still facing a critical shortage of teachers. According to ministry statistics, the number of permanent teachers in public universities amounted to 15,830 in 2021-2022 against 15,325 in 2020-2021. Among the 15,830 teachers, there are 8,975 in open access establishments, 6,725 in regulated access establishments and 130 in scientific research institutes. Unsurprisingly, Mohammed V University still has the largest number of teachers (2,512). Then come Hassan II University (2,325), Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah (1,748), Cadi Ayyad (1,680), Ibn Zohr (1,460), Abdelmalek Essaadi (1,299) and Moulay Ismail (1,112).
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