Education is a pre-requisite to the development of any society. While some countries put great emphasis on this facet, others still face backlash due to a lack of funding and support when it comes to the public sector of education.
Since its independence in 1956, Morocco has often been infamous for leaning towards the latter.
It wasn’t until recent years that the country put numerous reforms in motion to improve and reinforce the quality of education most Moroccan public students receive.
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Pre-school/ La Maternelle (age 3-6)
Most Moroccan families will enroll their children for two to three years in pre-school, or kindergarten.
While some middle class and upper-class families will send their kids to a private institute, less fortunate families most often send their kids to Quranic pre-school to learn the Arabic alphabet and Quran verses until they’re of age to attend primary school.
Private kindergartens typically consist of introductory ‘classes’ in French, Arabic, and sometimes even English. In addition to arts and crafts and fun indoor activities.
Primary school/ Primaire (age 6-12)
At the ages of 5 to 6, children will then attend primary school for the following 6 years. The curriculum consists of different classes both in French and Arabic, with the added English class taught as a secondary language.
Though it is worth mentioning that English as a language is not introduced in public schools until the 7th grade.
The main courses are the Arabic language, French language, science, Islamic education, mathematics, as well as history, and geography.
In the 6th grade, students are required to pass a standardized test called “Examen Normalisé”.
The exam comprises of testing the students’ knowledge in each subject of the 6th grade and is regionally uniform.
Middle school/ Le Collège (age 12-15)
The middle school in Morocco involves three years of studies, with more or less the same subjects taught in primary school. In the public sector, students get assigned secondary language classes, this could either be English, Spanish, or German. On the other hand, private schools mainly teach English as a secondary language, in addition to French and Arabic.
The third year of middle school, known as ‘troisème année collège’ also requires students to sit through a standardized test (again regional) at the end of the school year.
These tests include French, Arabic, mathematics, physics, biology, Islamic education, and history, and geography. Secondary languages are not included in the tests (not until senior year of high school).
High school/ Le Lycée (age 15-18)
In the third year of middle school, students get to choose the high school curriculum they prefer. These mainly consist of a literary branch, a science branch, and a technology branch. The first focuses on literature and languages more than science subjects.
The second, while also including the three standard languages (French, Arabic, and English) also emphasizes math, biology, geology, physics, and chemistry.
While the technology branch does the same but also introduces new subjects like information technology and computer science.
All three branches will have a lot of classes in common, but with different hours assigned to each class.
High school students in Morocco will also start studying philosophy for the first time. At the end of the first year of high school, students get to choose for a second time which branch to move on to.
This includes ‘sciences maths’ or mathematic sciences (heavy focus on math and physics), economics (emphasis on enterprise management, finances, accounting, etc), or literature.
In the second year of high school, known as ‘Première Année Bac’, students will again sit through a regional standardized test at the end of the school year.
Though this time the subjects are mainly of a literary nature: Arabic, French, history, geography, and Islamic education.
Then in the third year of high school (Deuxième Année Bac), students will sit through a national standardized test. This would typically include math, physics, biology, chemistry, English language, and philosophy.
College/ Université (age 18 and above)
After getting a high school diploma (baccalauréat), students, depending on their grades, will choose which university to go to. College in Morocco is free, and students are required to sit through tests called ‘Concours’ for each university they’re interested in.
Getting accepted to sit through the entrance exam is based on the students’ grades in the second and third years of high school.
Most universities, for instance, med school, architecture, journalism, agricultural studies, vet school, and such solicit passing an entrance exam.
While other public universities that focus on history, sociology, psychology, or language majors only require a high school diploma.
Private vs Public Schools in Morocco
While education is compulsory from the age of 6 through 15 and free for all, the public sector remains lacking in many departments.
Most Moroccan families that can afford it will enroll their children in private schools for as long as they are able to.
Public schools in Morocco are notorious for being overcrowded, underfunded, with a detrimental shortage in equipment whether it be technological devices or basic lab supplies.
More often than not, teachers won’t attend for months on end without being held accountable. And when they do, the overcrowded environment hinders proper communication and effective learning.
The low wages and the scarcity of government funding propel teachers to find other sources of income, mainly teaching at private schools or tutoring students on the side.
So much so that they would miss their classes in the public sector to attend those they get paid extra for in the private sector.
Private schools typically charge anything from $100 a month to $500, sometimes even a few thousand dollars, depending on how ‘prestigious’ the school is and whether it’s a Moroccan, French, or American school (as those teaching a foreign curriculum tend to be much more expensive than those teaching the Moroccan one).
School Hours
School hours in Morocco depend on the educational level of the students, as well as whether it’s private or public. In private school, from kindergarten until high school, the standard hours are from 8 a.m to 12 p.m, and then in the afternoon from 2 p.m until 6 p.m.
This goes for the entire week from Monday until Friday. Though students do have one to two free afternoons per week, typically Wednesday and/or Friday afternoon.
Public schools will also relatively rely on the same schedule, though sometimes students will have a free period within those hours (for example from 10 a.m to 12 p.m), which explains why in most public schools, students also go to class on Saturdays.