Morocco’s Necessary Step Towards Online Public Education – OpEd

The current landscape of education worldwide is utilizing online platforms to extend their populations’ access to learning. A successful learning management system (LMS) is a central hub to virtually engage families, help teachers plan courses, and facilitate education with the emphasis on direct communication of all involved parties.

When introduced in Morocco, it could be life-changing for those labeled by the media as “excused absences,” even though Moroccan schooling is mandatory from ages six to fifteen. Legitimizing the online curriculum that graduates the young population would aid the stated Ministry of Education’s 2026 goals. The population has yet to see any major decline in these rates to give the 2022 reform its credit, partially evidenced by 300,000 children who dropped out in 2023.

The Kingdom’s history with online learning was before the 2022 reform, and lacked the updated curriculum and structure needed to engage students who were disadvantaged or unmotivated. Thus, the new model in a virtual classroom relies on revaluing participation as a key criterion to evaluate students, as this “reported higher levels of satisfaction and perceived learning and earned higher course grades” during online sessions, inline with the reform’s vision. The data from the increase in participation gives educators insight to adapt lessons and improve their online classes. 

  The online vision must be a publicly funded education system because affordability and access are necessary to improve student turnout. The government could utilize this innovative instrument while it builds schools and solidifies its plans to mitigate ongoing logistical issues. 

To recover the loss of education, solutions with efficient scalability would offer graduation to everyone affected. To achieve easy passage of instruction and resources, an organized hub would allow every enrolled individual the ability to bring their own approach to the educational experience, and by involving families into the system adds a pillar of integrity for an online initiative. This can make virtual learning an essential tool for the advancement of societies, and that props up the 2022 reform. 

Opponents of online schooling cite the budget, lack of instructional support, and student engagement as reasons to not explore the feasibility of providing a virtual option. While all valid, these concerns can be addressed through academic planning and appropriate investments, including internet availability. Areas of Morocco lack the wired infrastructure found elsewhere, but other options remain open.

4G as an alternative reaches 99% of the urban population, and 75.5% of rural Moroccans own a mobile phone. Mobile data, as an alternative to a wired infrastructure, used subsidized education data platforms that reached 75% of students in lockdown, yet we know one in four were not able to access the online platforms. Work needs to be done regardless to install mobile coverage, and failed attempts show how effectiveness is determined by how strongly the system is built. Those in these remote areas will, in time, have the path to an online education. 

Public-private initiatives like Orange Maroc’s “Écoles Numériques,” which benefits seventeen thousand rural students with tablets and e-learning tools, and the government’s TelmidTICE platform, which served over 600,000 students daily during COVID-19, show that digital learning can reach large areas. Therefore, digitizing the nation’s newly improved curriculum is a matter of how and when.

In comparison to the high cost of constructing new schools at a price tag of €680,000 per rural school on average, a learning management system, cell phone data connection, and affordable computers would cost each student €300 upfront, the following year dropping to €100. For the cost of building one school, the government could educate 2200 students by offering free access for low income families and affordable cost for those who can afford it.

The Moroccan government must meet its own goals, which requires realizations that access and the global momentum all point towards digital platforms, but will of course be challenging to integrate. That being said, the intrinsic value of immersive and practical learning that is so urgently needed, would not just improve but transform communities.

The practicality of providing opportunities to run simulations, explore ideas, and most importantly, connect with the world for feedback and collaboration, all online is priceless. Not to mention, the amount of employment this program needs to be successful, such as teachers, computer scientists, advisors, facilitators, and supervisors, will stimulate healthy economic growth.

The LMS will help Moroccans find a level of education that will solidify their academic foundation and lead to fulfilling careers. By following the applied learning model already written into law, we can drive opportunities leading to success and bring capital into communities, starting with the public education system.

• About the authors: Alon Ben-Meir II is a writer based in Marrakech exploring the importance of technological innovation in the public sector. Joyce Ait Ali is the learning support coordinator at the American School of Marrakech and a published journalist.