Agadir- France's Moroccan-born minister of Education Najat Vallaud Belkacem has been reportedly planning to file a formal legal complaint over a hoax letter that circulated widely on social media networks supposedly sent from her office urging French towns to offer weekly Arabic-language classes, according to media reports.

The letter, complete with fake letterhead and signature, suggests that the minister demanded an official from the Direction des Services Départementaux de L'Education Nationale (DSDEN) to contact town halls to offer a voluntary hour per week to discover the Arabic language.

"I strongly advise you to give the green light to this activity which aims at breaking down the linguistic barriers that our children could encounter in the near future," reads the letter signed in the name of the Moroccan-born minister.

Najat Vallaud Belkacem has been subject to harsh criticism from the French far-right for her Moroccan descent following her appointment as the first woman to hold the office of education minister.

Weekly newspaper Minute described her as a "Moroccan Muslim" and her appointment a "provocation". In its response regarding the letter, the ministry said that it does not fall within the Ministry's preview to offer extra-curricular activities, as these are organized at a local level.

The forgers made a series of errors, notably with the description of the ministry itself, which they called the "Ministry for National Education", instead of the full title of "Ministry for National Education, Higher Education and Research," the same source went on to add.

Taroudant, Morocco- After the success of Moroccan Resource Centers of English Network (MoRCE-Net) first national conference held in Agadir, April 16-19, 2013, and the second conference in Marrakech, November 16-18, 2013 under the theme “Promoting Lifelong Learning through Enhancement Activities and Project Work”, the Network honored its commitment and promise. Its ambitious dream of creating 100 resources centers around Morocco has finally become a reality.

Even though it is newly created and thanks to its thoughtful vision and the commitment of its founders, MoRCE-Net managed to create 100 resource centers in middle and high schools scattered all over the regions of the kingdom providing them with useful pedagogical resources.

 In collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, the British Council and the US Regional English Language Office (RELO), MoRCE-Net has succeeded since its creation in providing educational resources to many English resource centers around Morocco.

Yet, the 100 resource centres’ project has been a unique one in that the following resources were donated to all the 100 centers that were set up in different middle and high schools in Morocco: 150 Readers, 10 dictionaries, 12 markers, 2 mobile loud speakers, 1 CD player, 3 packets of flipcharts, and 5 packets of paper. The British Council promised to fund all those resources.

 “I would like to confirm that I have received the materials for our resource center. We are grateful to MoRCE-Net for the efforts they invest to create more resource centers around the country,” said Mr Lahsen Ahmam, a member of MoRCE-Net board and teacher of English at Ibn Elhaitam technical high school in Ouarzazate.

“The initiative was warmly welcomed by all students and teachers in my school,” said Ms Mouna Marbou, teacher of English at Khadija Oum Elmouminine middle school in Casablanca.

“Being a member of MoRCE-Net board makes me feel prouder and more confident that the 100 resource centres initiative is a successful project for the teaching and learning of English nationwide," said Mr Mohamed Bakkas, teacher of English at Ibn Soulaiman Roudani high school in Taroudant.

 As stated in its website (www.morce.net), “MoRCE-Net is a network whose main interests revolve around implementing learner-centered activities and creating professional collaboration and development opportunities. It is a platform for joining efforts among teachers, educational professionals and institutions interested in creating resource centers and English clubs.”

 “MoRCE-Net,” as explained by its president, Mr. Abdellatif Zoubair, “is a qualitative addition to the rest of the associations and centers that operate in the field of teaching and learning English in Morocco. Its main purpose is to provide spaces within educational institutions all over the kingdom to engage students in various activities and provide resources for learners in order to help them refine their talents and develop their linguistic, communicative and creative competencies.”

 “The resource center”, states Mr. Mohammed Hassim, MoRCE-Net secretary general, “is more than a library or collection of materials. It’s a space where students and teachers gain skills and competencies that would help them get engaged in project work and extra-curricular activities in better and more efficient ways. The role of the Network is to provide not only materials but, more importantly, a structured framework conducive to the acquisition of qualitative educational products and professional expertise.”

 According to MoRCE-Net’s president, “in its initial phase, the 100 English Resource Centers Program will benefit about 300 teachers and over 15000 students in Moroccan public middle and high schools in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. More accurate data will be collected starting this fall to determine the potential impact of the program on the quality of English language learning and instruction in the targeted schools”.

 To ensure the productive and professional orientation of the resource centers’ programme, each resource center is required to prepare a Portfolio of Evidence.

The Network shares through its website, a well structured and easy to use template of the portfolio that the centers have to complete and send to a MoRCE-Net committee for evaluation.The centers’ coordinators will then meet to showcase their portfolios and products in a national gathering that will be held by the end of January 2015. The centres will be classified according to the quality of their achievement and will be granted bronze, silver, or gold tags.

Mr. Abdellatif Zoubair and Mr. Mohamed Hassim edited and contributed to this article

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Rabat- Morocco has virtually achieved universal primary education with a national enrollment average of 99.5 pc, the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) said.

The country’s commitment, spearheaded by the ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, has contributed in achieving this performance during the past decade, UNICEF said in a statement issued on the occasion of the launch of the school year.

 However, UNICEF said the efforts made to achieve universal primary education are not reflected at different cycles, with a national enrollment average of 87.6 pc in middle schools and 61.1 pc in high schools.

In rural areas, children are facing difficulties to make transition from primary schools to middle schools, where the enrolment average does not exceed 69.5 pc, UNICEF notes, adding that this rate drops to 30.6 pc in their average enrolment in high schools.

UNICEF hails the commitment of the ministry of National Education and Vocational Training to devise a national pre-schooling strategy as a strategic component in the development of early childhood.

UNICEF reiterates, on this occasion, its commitment to support the ministry and its partners for the establishment of an open education system based on the universal values guaranteeing this right to all children in Morocco.

Taroudant, Morocco - The British government announced that students from Islamic confession now have the opportunity to receive financial loans in accordance with Islamic law, according to the Huffington.

The high tuition fees are forcing many British students to borrow money from banks, which they repay at the end of their studies, but Muslim students who could not afford education fees were forced to either accept loans with interests or quit school.

However, now that the British government announced the creation of - interest-free loan - student loans in accordance with Sharia (Islamic law), so that Muslims students can pay for their studies.

The aim of the UK government is to boost enrollment of Muslim students at the university.

The announcement comes after the government agency responsible for granting specific loans for students to help them finance their education, has made an increase in tuition fees in 2012, applying 3% interests to students’ loans.

The decision created controversy among Muslim students, arguing that imposing interest rates to students’ loans, contrary to Islamic law, is an attempt to exclude them from this system loan managed by the state.

In the wake of this, and to meet the needs of a large Muslim community, the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) collaborated with Islamic finance experts to afford an alternative system of loans - interest-free loan - in conformity with Islamic law.

The same source said that the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) welcomed the government's decision to support Muslim students.

"Our view is that the government must now prioritise the introduction of a legislative vehicle to implement an alternative finance model," said Ibrahim Ali, vice president of student affairs, according to the Huffington.

With studies fees reached £ 9000 (over € 11,000) for the school year, it has become difficult to study without borrowing in the UK.

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Rabat- Several Moroccan unions announced the organization of a general strike in the public sector on September 23, at the call of the Democratic Labor Federation (FDT).

"This is our way of saying ‘no’ to the government's decision to keep employees in higher education in their positions after they are 60 years old [the age of retirement in Morocco]," said Abdelhamid Fatihi, head of the FDT, at a press conference held on Thursday in Casablanca.

According Alyaoum24.com, the General Union of Workers of Morocco (UGTM) has confirmed its participation at the end of a meeting this Friday, September 12.

The leaders of the FDT said the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT) should respond to the call of the strike after its decision-making bodies gathered.

However, the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT) has not responded to the call for strike.

"This union has not responded to our efforts to reach out to them," says Abdelhamid Fatihi.

The call for a general strike in public sector is a reaction of the syndicates to the recent “unilateral government decisions”, which mainly harm employees.

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Taroudant, Morocco - Moroccan Minister of Education Rachid Belmokhtar said Thursday that the Ministry is refusing to allow teachers to pursue higher education because “of the negative impact of their absence on student learning."

Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of the Government Council on Thursday, the Minister said the teacher is an "employee who is accountable to the Ministry and also to students (...) and I do not agree with those who continue their education at the master's or doctoral level to improve their administrative situations at the expense of students."

The Minister confirmed that his ministry "will not allow any teacher to pursue university studies, and those who want to pursue the study should apply for full-time undergraduate study."

The Minister’s decision prompted dismay and disgruntlement from teachers who are already completing their university studies or aspiring to enroll in master’s studies this year.

“Teachers are the ones in the most dire need of master’s programs and advanced training to provide them with enlightened knowledge, innovative techniques, and advanced strategies to cope with the challenging tasks they are up against,” said Mohamed, a teacher at a middle school, pursuing his studies in the university.

“I see no purpose behind the minister’s move but keeping teachers tight and controlled,” said Faissal, a high school teach in Agadir.

“Any country that despises its teachers and educators should not expect much from its educational system,” he added.

On the other hand, some people hail the Minister’s decision, believing that the teacher, with an already busy schedule, will not be able to cope with a “demanding job” and university studies, which require more dedication at the expense of the students.

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By Huda Bouzloul

Meknes - Many universities in Morocco are experiencing a series of ideological conflicts and intolerant behavior between groups of students with different political and cultural beliefs.

Abderahim El Hasnaoui, a student from the University of Meknes, was murdered by students from Annahj democrati Al Qaidi in Fez Dher Mehrez campus few months ago, bringing to light the necessity of securing and freeing the educational institutions from any fanatic tendencies to demonize the University and the role it can play in enlightening societies and consolidating the ties of positive and peaceful communication between all individuals, particularly students.

Within this frame, a body called English Committee for Dialogue and Communication from within the Organization of Students’ Renewal (A Moroccan civic organization working within Moroccan Universities to enhance cultural communication between students) is struggling to contribute to the shift from conflict to peace and knowledge exchange and cultivation.

ECDC was founded in 2006 in Meknes, Morocco, and since then, many activities have been conducted to diffuse the character of mutual listening and exchange between students despite their cultural differences, making of diversity a rich resource for effective communication and a paid ground for leadership and self-expression.

Morocco World News has recently interviewed Mr Abdelouahed Oulgout, the first ECDC leader and member-founder, to shed light on their initiative and encourage students in Moroccan Universities to try the same path.

MWN: Could you introduce yourself to the readers? 

Abdelouahed Oulgout: My name is Abdelouahed Oulgout. I was born in 1984 in Tinejdad, a town within the province of Errachidia, Morocco. I work as a teacher of English in Boumalen Dades high school, and I have once been a member-founder of ECDC and its first leader. I am fond of writing both in English and Arabic, networking, public speaking, and software design. I also write Classic Arabic poetry and I am struggling to publish my first collection soon.

MWN: We are curious to know how the idea of English Committee for Dialogue and Communication came to existence. 

Abdelouahed Oulgout: I must say that the idea and establishment of ECDC on the 28^th April, 2006, was an outcome of a collaborative work between a group of highly dedicated students within the Organization of Students’ Renewal (publically known as OREMA) in which I was a member at that time. We held a meeting together to negotiate how we can serve our nation and contribute to common good inside Moroccan universities. We then agreed to carry out a weekly public speech to discuss any issue that matters to our community as pupils of Attawhid Wal-Islah (a legally Moroccan moderate Islamic movement working on Da’awah and education) with our classmates on the square inside the university.

MWN:  Well, what was the goal behind creating ECDC?

Abdelouahed Oulgout: At first, our goal was too general to define. It was communicative in essence: to transfer and share any issue or value that matters to our social and cultural morals as Muslims as well as the just causes of our nation, particularly the Palestinian question. Yet, throughout experience, I found out that ECDC is also bridging the gap between students and establishing a positive rapport between individuals of different cultural orientations. Therefore, ECDC must put the establishment of a peaceful discourse among its highest priorities. In so doing, ECDC will be one of the first initiatives to bring the role of the university back into light.

MWN: Please tell us more about ECDC activities? 

Abdelouahed Oulgout: Because its activities are in English, ECDC still targets two skills: speaking and writing. ECDC team holds a weekly public speech to communicate a variety of issues as I mentioned previously. We may also conduct a lecture as we did twice in 2008, deliver presentations, interviews, and seminars, only to mention but a few. As for writing, ECDC has a wall display to share students’ writings of different genres and different rubrics. We do also conduct a contest either in public speaking or a particular genre of writing to encourage students to speak, read, and write.

MWN: To ensure the survival of the committee, what are the points we should focus on? 

Abdelouahed Oulgout: Thank you for asking this question. That’s one of the biggest challenges we are facing.

First, for ECDC to survive, we must keep and widen the channels of positive communication, online and offline, between all individuals. This is of paramount importance to discover new talents and give opportunity for a large community of students to shine, defeat their fears, and become leaders. Second is training: we cannot ensure our survival if we don’t sacrifice some of our time to share the seeds of leadership with the new generation. Third is documentation. If we don’t record what we do, we will never have a basis to reflect on our experience and improve our practices. Therefore, ECDC administrative team is required to take charge of reporting their activities to accumulate experience and collect data for further improvement. Last but not least, ECDC team should think forward to share the idea with other branches of OREMA wherever there is a university.

MWN: What are your expectations from this committee? 

Abdelouahed Oulgout: I can’t cross my arms and wait for ECDC to meet my expectations. What I expect is what we should work for together to make: success, success and success.

MWN: What advice can you give to students to be successful and good citizens? 

Abdelouahed Oulgout: I recommend you all to go beyond your course and take part in the experience of leadership. The knowledge you get from your professors inside classrooms is not sufficient; you should jump into the field to apply your thoughts and develop new skills that will enlighten your life later on after graduation.

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Rabat - Some 656,467 student have been enrolled in Moroccan universities for the 2014-2015 academic year, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executives Training, Lahcen Daoudi, said Tuesday.

The number of students enrolled in Moroccan universities rose by 47 percent from 446,985 during the 2011-2012 academic year to 656,467 during the 2014-2015 academic year, Daoudi said at MAP Forum, held under the theme "2014-2015 academic year: expectations and challenges."

The number of universities also increased from 382 during the 2011-2012 academic year to 392 during the 2014-2015 academic year, despite the acute problem of real estate holdings, the minister said.

In addition to developing the hosting capacity, several indicators also testify to the evolution of the Moroccan university and its ability to support the changes taking place in the society, he added.

Taroudante- A new all-girl Muslim school opened its doors in the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England, encouraging students to aspire to high positions in the country by joining top universities, according to the local Coventry telegraph.

For now, the school serves students in temporary buildings on Lincoln Street, Foleshill while permanent premises are still under construction.

The school hosts 153 students so far.  All girls are aged 11 to 13 years, and the school aims to eventually host high school students up of to 18 years old.

During her speech in the first assembly of the newly opened Eden Girls School, Asiyah Ravat, head of the school, encouraged students to aim for "best universities to become a lawyer or surgeon, or even running the country as Prime Minister."

In the same speech, (If you are referring to the “source” as the speech. If not, clarify the source), Mrs Ravat said: “We are aiming to be a non-selective grammar school. At the first assembly, we talked about aspirations.”

“I said that standing in front of me might be a future British Prime Minister as well as future surgeons and lawyers.

The new all-girl school has set certain strict rules that every pupil must respect.

While the headscarf, mandated to be purple, is optional, the school does not allow students to wear trousers, and applying make up or wearing jewelry is strictly forbidden.

The uniform is a navy blazer with purple piping, an ankle-length navy skirt, a white blouse, and bags must be black.

All lessons will start and end with a special prayer.

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Taroudant, Morocco - After various statements made by Lahcen Daoudi, Minister of Higher Education, in which he highlighted the importance of English for students aspiring to build a bright future, the Moroccan official has reportedly signed a circular making it obligatory for scientific students to master English language before they can be admitted in science Universities.

According to Radio Deluxe, Lahcen Daoudi said "I just signed a circular and all those who do not master English will no longer have access to scientific, technical and economic universities starting from January 1, 2015."

Replying to the statement of the Radio Delux, “Grand Oral” presenter, who regards this circular as “discriminatory”, Mr. Lahcen Daoudi said “English is the language of science, and we cannot teach science without this language.”

“We are already too late,” the Minister said. “Imagine that in engineering school, we train engineers who do not master English,” the minister added.

For Mr. Daoudi, it is unacceptable to have graduate engineers who do not master English.

“A doctor in economy who doesn’t speak English, it is not normal,” he said

Lahcen Daoudi previously announced that the government is moving to boost the position of English in Moroccan universities, stressing that English is the language of scientific research, and it is the solution for Morocco’s scientific research to advance.

Having said that “French is no longer valid,” the minister also said that Arabic is important only because it is the language of the Quran, calling all students who are aspiring to join the professional and academic community to learn English.

The new statement of the minister of higher education is sparking controversy among social media users.

Some hailed the Minister’s decision and said it is likely to boost the presence of English in the Moroccan education system while others dismissed as “arbitrary and discriminatory.”

Agadir- Cataluña's regional government is reportedly trying to sway its large Moroccan population to vote favorably during the upcoming referendum on secession from the Spanish kingdom that has been scheduled for November 9, by offering Arabic and Tamazight lessons in addition to lessons about Islam in the region's schools, according to Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo.

The government of the northeastern region of Cataluña approved on Monday the 2014-2017 "Morocco Plan", a bill which aims to strengthen relations between the region and Morocco, 'in order to satisfy the aspirations of some 270,000 Moroccans residents in Cataluña, which consists 3 percent of the region's population'.

According to the Madrid-based newspaper, the bail's main point is that the government is planning to offer Moroccan residents the teaching of Islam education as well as Arabic and Tamazight language of the Rif Mountains during school hours.

The Catalan government is planning to attract Moroccans to the polls in two months and to appease Morocco's opposition to the region's independence ambitions yielded out of 'fear that the separatist spirit will spread into the Western Sahara', the newspaper added.

Spokesman of Artur Mas's government, Francesc Homs said on Monday following the meeting of the Executive Council that the bill has established five big areas of cooperation with Morocco and its immigrants. However, the official did not elaborate on these areas of cooperation.

The bill was developed with the collaboration of several departments of the regional government, starting with the Ministry of Education, the General Directorate of Immigration and representative groups of the Moroccan community in Cataluña.

The government proposed the creation of a Catalan-Moroccan joint Committee to offer Islamic religion classes to nearly 24,000 Moroccan students enrolled in Catalan schools.

Marrakech - Many young Moroccan children are now receiving their first tablet computers, now that they are widely available.

The devices offer the chance to explore the world with only a Google connection, as well as being able to play games. The touch screen offers kids a new world of learning, which has important implications.

The BBC reports that tablets are now being used in schools in Cote D’Ivoire and some private schools in Morocco. The school curriculum is downloaded on the tablets, and has sounds and animations so that children have an easy-to-use reference and can avoid using too much paper.

The Qelasy tablet was created by Thierry N'Doufou, an entrepreneur in Cote d’Ivoire. The educational tablet has the potential to revolutionize the education system. Children take to touch screen technology with ease, and it opens up exciting opportunities for them and totally new techniques.

Some Moroccan schools have been equipped with laptops, but for young children the tablet can take the education process to another dimension. It is, of course, still important to ensure writing and reading skills are maintained. This new technology may help Moroccan schools to modernize their teaching methods and make learning an exciting and novel experience for the young.

The tablet is being provided to 5,000 students in Cote D’Ivoire, and will also be used by private schools in Morocco. They will each cost around $232 before tax in shops and stores. Inquiries for tablets have been coming in from France, Nigeria, Macedonia, Ukraine, and Senegal. It’s a fine example of African entrepreneurship in action.

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Fez - The alarming degradation of the Moroccan education system has caused considerable controversy while the situation remains dismal according to NGOs’ reports.

After decades of continuous downturns on diverse fronts such as economics, employment, social justice, and even sports, Moroccan education has also reached its crisis peak.

UNESCO has unmasked the continued miserable state of Moroccan public schools as Morocco was ranked amongst the least effective educational systems worldwide. A very similar dim picture was revealed in 2011 and 2013 reports (Almassae; January 4, 2014). These reports indicate that the country must undertake major, comprehensive reform measures to restore and strengthen the system.

Despite the 5% of the country’s GDP devoted to education and the grand facilities of the Moroccan ministry, the level of Moroccan education is no better than much poorer countries. The recent report has ranked Morocco in a belated position among Arab countries in graduation and schooling rates. This dreary situation persists despite vows of educational authorities to reform this sensitive sector.

After his allegiance ceremony in July 1999, King Mohammed VI’s gave an official discourse in parliament on August 8, wherein he indicated the significance of reforming the Moroccan education. In the same year, the Moroccan Ministry of Education published a report following a thorough analysis of the Moroccan education system, following an order of former King Hassan II. The National Charter for Education and Training has been considered a momentous catalyst in Moroccan educational policy-making promising deep reforms of the deficient educational system. It has underlined a set of reform measures and mechanisms intended to promote Moroccan education’s quality.

The National Charter was a revolutionary reform plan aimed at matching the economic, political, social, and educational novelties Morocco was witnessing then, after several crises in the system of education. Overall, the Charter has set a plan for quality education through an inclusive series of goals emphasizing good teacher-training, syllabus review and re-planning, language instruction enhancement, and human resources adequacy, to name a few. However, 15 years later, the actual status of education has gone through a palpable degradation, which puts into question the state’s political intentions in dealing with the issue.

The White Book -another official education document- has named a series of tenets for education reform in Morocco. It affirms that the curriculum should not simply be a mere combination of subjects but an essential component of an educational strategy for reform (White Book. introduction p:1). It also emphasizes that school should play the leading role in producing well-trained, educated, and independent individuals. In addition, it draws attention to the empowerment of democracy and human rights, which are indispensable for opinion, knowledge, creativity, and initiative to thrive in educational settings. It accentuates the preservation the Moroccan identity along preparing the learner to be an active and influential player in the aspired renaissance.

Similarly, and among other measures, the Moroccan administration has adopted an educational policy referred to as ‘school map’, intended to pass students in the early and middle stages of schooling to advanced levels despite their lack of primary education skills. Worthy of note is that experts attribute this defective policy to international partners’ intervention in the Moroccan financial affairs to control their fundraising for improvement of state sectors, of which education is major component.

The reform processes has brought about a hustle and bustle in the media as well as for the public. Another official reaction to the dire human resources’ shortage and critical education situation was Latifa El Abida's ministry introduction of ‘The Emergency Plan’. It was an emergent model of reform which cost a colossal budget in an attempt to make up for human resources’ shortage, enhance in-service teacher-training, limit high drop-out rates, equip classrooms with teaching materials, etc.

However, the results of the Emergency Plan demonstrate palpable failure. Education establishments are still short of human resources, especially teaching staff. Dropout rates are still very high: between 350 and 400 thousand leave school each year before the age of fifteen. In the long-term, dropping out has serious consequences such as high illiteracy rates, unemployment, theft practice, affiliation to crime gangs, and the like.

Also, imitation of the French system in regards to cycles, streams, grades, and even content continues to stir controversy among education stakeholders. Given the conspicuous incompatibility between Moroccan and French educational environments, the copying of the French system has generated public discontent among educators, students, and their parents. Many deem it a continued form of subservience to France, which aims to maintain its colonialist control over Morocco.

Today, Moroccan schools produce unqualified literates; ill-suited for the job market, and unable to function well in service to their country. The state’s ad hoc measures to raise the quality of education is manifested through policy change along with change of people in charge of this vital department. For instance, when Mohammed El Wafa took office as minister of education, he immediately cancelled The Emergency Plan and fired the official in charge of it, contending that a colossal budget was fruitlessly spent for the program. El Wafa has adopted a new policy addressing educational issues; a philosophy the appointed technocrat Rachid Belmokhtar seems to despise. This indicates that educational policy-making is dependent on personal perceptions or political ideologies rather than the country’s overall policy guided by national identity and the pursuit of sustainable development.

Interestingly, Moroccan education’s deterioration continues while official discourse on education grows tenser through parliamentary debate, media programs, and so forth. In this respect, King Mohammed VI gave a speech on August 20, 2013, whereby he alluded to the mediocrity of the educational system and stated an effort to review language instruction policy.

Meanwhile, he announced the creation of The Higher Council for Education, which will serve as a specialized body able to provide sound views and suggestions on education policy. The King’s speech was interpreted as returning back to the use of foreign languages in instruction in lieu of Arabic, which asserts that Arabization was another facet of a failing education.

Considerable efforts have been made to rescue our education. However, reform attempts have veered off the central principle which is the empowerment of human resources and catering to their needs. In this respect, teachers and students continue to face increasing difficulties as reform plans seem to have no positive impact on their personal or professional endeavors. On the one hand, teachers still endure myriad problems such as slow promotions, low salaries, artificial textbooks, poor students’ grades, many working hours, lack of teaching materials, etc.

These problems surely have an adverse effect on teaching quality inasmuch as teachers are stressed more and more and resent the state for inadequate working conditions. The state has not only suspended promotion of professionals holding academic and professional degrees but even violently reacted to their 2013 protest marches through arrest, verbal affronts, and other forms of maltreatment and humiliation.

Students, on the other side, are no longer interested in the Moroccan public schooling due to its disgraceful atmosphere , boring lessons, large classes, lack of and absence of teachers, etc. According, the 51st issue of Educational Sciences Journal, Moroccan education is featured by absence of modern teaching techniques and the ongoing adoption of boring and unattractive teaching styles, which adversely affect students' excitement and motivation to learn while they are immersed in a technological revolution; as a result, the rate of failure in standardized exams has accrued significantly. Similarly, the rate of drop outs has alarmingly escalated in Morocco in the recent years according to officials as well as independent figures.

Today, the Moroccan education system continues its critical decline on many fronts: low schooling rates, high illiteracy, high drop-out rates, mismatch between education contents and job-market requirements, etc (Education Science Journal, Issue 51, p58). Undeniably, all stakeholders have a part to play in the improvement of education quality and revival of the lethargic school life. Action, not words, irrespective of political or ideological backgrounds, is necessary in order to bring back to the Moroccan education the value it had throughout its long history.

Reform is not possible unless the main concerned parties are included and their views are well-considered. Schools need to be equipped with necessary teaching and learning materials in addition to adequate human resources to cater educational needs. Curricula need to be reviewed and updated to suit students’ interests and meet their aspirations. In sum, discourse remains a mere bare bone awaiting enforcement to add flesh and eventually effectuate the reform Moroccans have long anticipated.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

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Austin - The history of Arabic teaching in the U.S reflects to a certain extent the changes that the Arab-American relations have undergone. At the University of Texas at Austin, perhaps nobody can talk about these issues better than Mahmoud Al-Batal, or Si Mahmoud as I like to call him, the Director of the Arabic Flagship Program at UT.

Si Mahmoud has been teaching Arabic in the U.S. for almost thirty years. After getting his B.A and an Education diploma from the Lebanese University in Beirut, he traveled to America to study Arabic linguistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He got an M.A degree in 1981 and a PhD in 1985, after which he returned to Egypt to work as a visiting assistant professor at the American University in Cairo. Since civil war was still raging in Lebanon at that time, he decided two years later to come back to the States where he worked as assistant professor of Arabic at Emory University, Director of Arabic School at Middlebury College, and held many other positions between 1987 and 2006. In 2006, he joined UT at Austin and held the position of Director of the Arabic Flagship Program and a Professor of Arabic since then. During this long experience, he has witnessed many changes in the status of Arabic as well as in the methods used to teach it, and he played a major role in some of these changes.

According to Si Mahmoud, teaching Arabic in the U.S was not much different from the way it was taught in the Arab world. The focus was more on reading than on communication. In fact, even reading was practically subordinate to rules of grammar. The textbooks used in those days began with parts of speech, tenses, and similar topics arranged in the order most Arabic grammar textbooks follow. The student had to wrestle with the final vocalization of nouns, learn the rules of “i3raab” and try to apply them correctly, just like what students of mathematics do. In brief, Arabic was taught as a dead language, as Mahmoud put it. This method perhaps suited the objectives of Arabic learners in those days. They were mostly students interested in traditional literature and thought, and very few of them considered traveling in the region or knowing the people. Besides, very few American students opted for Arabic as a foreign language: their number was around 3000 all over the country in 1987, compared with around 48000 today. A considerable number of those 3000 students were of Arab or Muslim origin who wanted to keep in touch with the culture of their parents.

Faced with this situation, Si Mahmoud began to develop some dissatisfaction, especially that he came from the Faculty of Education where innovative teaching methods were well-known. In the 1980’s, a trend in foreign language teaching was developing according to which the focus on grammar was fruitless and could not lead to an eventual mastery of the language. Instead, the focus was shifting toward communication. Within this pedagogical atmosphere, Si Mahmoud developed the conviction that Arabic should be taught as a living language. Indeed, he adopts a special view of the language which he thinks could be useful even in Arabic-speaking countries. For him, there is one Arabic language, but with various levels. The focus on the written/literary level alone can only lead to the alienation of this level (i.e. fusHaa) from everyday life and lead, ultimately, to its death. Speakers use a language for various purposes: informing, chatting, etc. in addition to reading and writing, and any language that is incapable of expressing any of these functions is not a full-fledged language. He points out that Arabic textbooks intended for Arab students tend to include only texts from classical sources, and wonders: what about newspapers, modern literature, the media, etc. don’t they use Arabic? In this connection, he thinks that teaching language functions should be given priority over forms. With this idea in mind, many of the obsolete forms that are rarely used today, though they still keep an important place in Arabic grammar books, should be overlooked, at least in the beginning stages.

It was within this framework that Si Mahmoud started to think seriously about changing his approach to Arabic teaching. When he was nominated Director of the School of Arabic at Middlebury College in 1991, he seized the opportunity to put to practice the ideas he had had for some time. In the few ensuing years, he published, in collaboration with Kristen Brustad and Abbas Al-Tounsi, the first textbook to use the communicative approach to teaching Arabic as a foreign language. According to him, students spend a whole school year without being exposed to the so-called “i3raab”. The focus is mainly on listening, speaking, reading and writing. Of course, for the purposes of communication with native-speakers of Arabic, it would be absurd to train foreign learners to use FusHaa for everyday ordinary purposes. That’s why these learners are exposed right from the beginning to Arabic dialects. I’ve noticed, though, that most students use Egyptian or Levantine varieties and, to a lesser extent, Moroccan Darija. According to Si Mahmoud, this is mainly because most Arabic teachers working at UT come from these two regions. Since the Arabic Flagship Program has moved its centre from Egypt to Méknes, Morocco, it is expected that we will witness more and more use of Darija among American learners of Arabic.

Then came the rise in demand for learning Arabic after the sad events of 9/11. Si Mahmoud explains that the Arabic Flagship Program was launched by the government immediately after these events. Its objective was to form managers who could operate in the Middle East or serve as interface between the American government and the local populations. Arabic soon became one of the “critical” languages, like Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Farsi and a few others. Ordinary Americans also wanted to learn about the Middle East in order to understand what was going on. I told Mahmoud that I couldn’t understand how, instead of turning their back to those who attacked them, Americans started to invest more and more effort and money to understand them. He replied that there were indeed people who were of the opinion to cut all channels of communication with Arabs and Muslims, but those who advocated a rational approach managed to prevail eventually, though not completely. According to him, American learners of Arabic are already serving as a bridge between the two cultures. Indeed, it is part of the training of these learners to spend some time in an Arabic-speaking country to practice the language, and most of them come back with positive attitudes and probably some personal relations.

Together with his colleagues, Si Mahmoud is working hard to form the next generations of American speakers and teachers of Arabic, and he believes that these will contribute to changing the stereotypes that Americans generally hold about Arabs and Muslims.

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Rabat - Precalculus is one of the highest levels of mathematics that is commonly taught in secondary education.

For most students, precalculus is not a required math course that they will have to take. Most of the students that enroll in precalculus are doing it to prepare themselves for college. They may also have the opportunity to take a calculus course in their senior year of high school which can count towards college credit. Regardless of the reason, if you are taking precalculus, it is likely because you are on a path where you will have to take higher levels of calculus afterwards.

Precalculus is designed to prepare you for more challenging math courses. Precalculus introduces to you the concepts that you will be learning about in further classes. You will be learning about limits and derivatives for the most part.

A limit is a way to place a value on a number or equation that has a variable in it. You can find the value of a certain number or equation as it, the variable, approaches predefined values. Limits are important because they are used often in advance concepts of calculus.

A derivative is best described as the rate of change of a curve. If you ever graphed an equation, you can identify the rate that the slope is changing at. You can also pinpoint specific places on the graph and determine the rates of change as well. You can even derivatives to find the rate of change in 3 dimensional graphs.

If your head is starting to spin by now, you're not alone. Calculus is a very difficult course to learn. Precalculus is especially important because it provides you with the building blocks that you will need to learn in the higher up courses. If you are not able to keep up with the lessons that are being taught in your precalculus course, you may run the risk of falling behind the rest of the class.

Math is one of the subjects that builds upon itself. If you do not understand the beginning concepts, you will not be able to understand more advanced concepts afterwards. That is why it is so important to keep pace with what you're being taught. You should make sure that you are taking the time to understand everything that is included in the lesson plan so that you will be better prepared to understand future lessons. The better you understand the basics, the easier it will be to learn advanced concepts afterwards.

If you are taking Precalculus or calculus, a good way to make sure that you are keeping up with the lessons is to work with a tutor. Pre calculus tutoring or a calculus tutor will be able to help you with any difficulties that you may be having. Calculus is a very conceptual subject and it is difficult to understand if you are going to rely on just a book for the Internet. It is one of the subjects that you really need a tutor to help you learn it correctly.

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Marrakech - According to the former parts of the published essay "Using Technology in Communicative Language Teaching Approach,"[Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] we saw the extent to which Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) could enhance the learning process in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Thus, this approach would not let technology be only a tool of giving instructions in EFL classrooms, but a tool that could be used to teach communicatively.

However , this method of using techonology communicatively in EFL classrooms, could be apparent through some virtual games such as the one we mentioned in the previous article, Semi Town ,which  is an effective communicative way of teaching in class.

To clarify more this point of using virtual games in class, I chose to study Trace Effect as a new adapted game in EFL classrooms; It is, just like Semi Town, considered one of the successful games that could help students learn and have fun at the same time. In this article, I will first introduce and describe the game, and then deduce the language functions and civic manners to be learnt from it. At the end of the article, it is my hope that that many teachers will be interested in adapting such games to their classrooms.

Trace Effect is an interactive 3D immersive video game. It was launched by U.S department of State Bureau of educational and Cultural affairs; Trace Effect aims at enhancing and developing the communicative competences of young English learners. It is available in DVD–based interactive 3D Multimedia, and online websites mainly http://Traceeffects.state.gov.

The game’s characteristics:

Trace Effects is a virtual world that simulates the real life situation in USA. Throughout its seven chapters, it represents a lot of situations that a learner may encounter in his or her ordinary life. Within these seven chapters, 27 milestones or practice activities are provided, and named characters are also included, which makes the activities meaningful. At each milestone, Trace, who is the main character of the game, has to solve some problems.

Trace is a university student who has accidentally traveled from the year 2045 to the present time. For Trace to go back home, he is supposed to solve various problems by helping other characters. He needs to acquire several civic manners and complete certain missions so that he can go back home and make the future a better place.

However, since the learners play the role of Trace, they are the ones who have to solve the problems that are given in the game. Learners become the decision makers who decide which actions should be taken to go forward in the game, and help Trace come back home. Also, it is them who drive and direct Trace to places and different contexts based on the instructions that are displayed on the reader software player.

The instructions are organized and divided into three sections. The first section, on the left top of the software reader, is a compass that indicated to the learner the direction of Trace’s goal. Immediately under this section, there is a section detailing the objectives that should be realized by the students. The objectives differ according to the chapter and milestone so that they are constantly changing. The third section, on the bottom right, includes two buttons of options and actions. Learners select the appropriate sentences or speech acts, and communicate with other characters by clicking on some suggestions. The best selection gains the best scores. On the other hand, the button action allows students to choose and take some actions according to their needs; for example, they can give, take, deliver, show, and so on.

To sum up, the main objective of Trace Effect is to allow students the freedom to choose the actions or decisions they want to take. Also, it makes them imagine themselves in real life situations. Thanks to the game, learners become enthusiastic, dynamic and eager to discover American cultural locations such as New York City, San Francisco, and Washington.

Language functions and civic manners to be learnt from the activity 

After giving a clear description of Trace Effect game, its pedagogical objectives become relatively obvious. Trace Effect was launched to boost student proficiency and abilities. It allows the student to learn the language functions communicatively by being involved in actions and decision making. Students learn about language functions as forms and speech acts to be realized or followed when in such situations.

For instance, chapter six emphasizes the use of request as a language function. Using requests in everyday life is very common. In the game, Trace is supposed to help other people to solve some problems. Here, Trace is obliged to move from a character to another one asking them for help.

At the very beginning of the chapter, Trace comes to Sophie, a character in the game, and asks her for some coffee. Bearing in mind that Trace is a learner and player, if he or she asks in a polite way as it is suggested, he or she goes forward and gains more scores. A suggestion a learner should use when requesting is when Trace says “Hi Sophie … can I try some coffee.”  From this the learner learns how to make a request, and how to respond to it as well. Sophie replies “I’m afraid no, unfortunately I forgot to buy coffee beans” which is a negative response but in a positive way. Also, when Trace offers his help to bring her the beans, in her turn, Sophie asks him again to bring a grind for her. Trace answers “sorry, Sophie, I do not have anything to grind beans.” Here the students learn in a communicative way how to make a request, and an apology at the same time.

Additionally in chapter 1, milestone 2, a female student asks Trace to show her where she could get the student ID, and she asks “Excuse me where can I get the student ID?” Trace answers “At the students’ services office”. By asking people on the street for directions, the learner learns how to ask politely for some information, an action that is immediately applicable to real-life situations.

In chapter 4, the sequenced millstones teach some civic manners to students, and let them work in groups to find out some solutions to reduce and recycle the trash. In the course of this situation, Trace has to advise people who throw trash in public places, rivers and so on.

For example, when Trace comes across a group of characters and offers to help them recycle the bottles they throw away for less pollution, he says “if you recycle the bottles, they won’t pollute the river,” and “they should recycle.” A learner learns  how bad it is to throw trash in public places, and how to advise others not to do so in a polite way, even though the suggestions of asking and answering are always given within the game so that a learner chooses freely how he or she wants to do an action.

Afterward, Trace runs across Sydney, a character who uses plastic bags, and gives her suggestions of using other bags instead of the plastic ones that contribute to the pollution. Trace suggests “I’m sorry but if the plastic gets in the river, it hurts the fish. Maybe you could find a reusable bag” there are other suggestion forms such as “there are bags in the river. You need a reusable bag,” but the first one seems to be a better way, in this situation, to make a suggestion or give some advice.

Finally, while the practice activities are taking place in the virtual streets and public places, students become more familiar with the appropriate language functions to use in real life.  It shows them the polite way to perform an action, and a positive or negative aspect to respond to it. Students interact, play and learn at the same time, learning how to use language functions in a meaningful and easy way. They grow familiar with the fact that they should be responsible for their actions, and that what they learn in class should be practiced and related to their real life out of the class. In fact, Trace Effect helps them go transced the limitations of the classroom, and the traditional and mechanical way of teaching and learning that might be empty of any contextualization.

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Rabat - The new pedagogic project "Vision 2030" should enable Moroccan schools offer, to all citizens and equally, a quality education and training based on the Nation's supreme values and principles, said on Tuesday National Education Minister Rachid Benmokhtar.

This project seeks to prepare pupils plan their future, contribute actively to building the human capital and open on universal principles, the minister told MAP Forum themed "challenges of new school year and educational system reform."

Benmokhtar, who gave a general idea about the project, enumerated a series of measures to take in order to ensure its success mainly mastering the Arabic language and fostering basic knowledge through a new school program for primary school's four years (reading, math and pronunciation) and rising grading schemes as a condition for academic success.

Foreign languages should be also mastered, said the minister, underlining the experimental launch of high school diplomas in the English and the Spanish languages for school year 2014-2015.

Marrakech-  Following the advice of the Minister of Higher Education Lahcen Daoudi, the Moroccan School in Agadir has adopted English as its language of instruction.

This is the first school using Moroccan and a Anglo-Saxon school program in English. Classes for the primary school are in session for the 2014-2015 academic year.

The school’s Director of Academic Affairs, Fatima Iffsate, began working on the project 3 years ago. The school opened at the same time as the launch of the international baccalaureate in Morocco.

The school’s goal is to strengthen the local education infrastructure by introducing new technologies and techniques that meet international standards and enable students to find high-level employment in line with their academic achievements, in order to prepare them as a capable future generation.

As reported by Medias24, The Moroccan School in Agadir has high quality facilities. Its building has five stories and is 9,500 sq meters. There are interactive white boards in all classrooms and an intranet system so that teachers can communicate with each other, the administration, and students’ parents. The school has an innovative approach with a music room, theater, art gallery, library, sports ground, and a prayer room.

The school is located on Boulevard Mohammed V in Agadir. It services students aged between 3 to 11. There are 70 teachers on faculty, half of whom are native English speakers. This enables the school to fulfill its educational mission while forging its own identity.

The Moroccan School also plans to open a college for students to earn a bachelor’s degree. It plans to initiate partnerships up with international universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Morocco is currently seeing its private education system open up to foreign languages (including English) and partnerships with overseas universities to allow Moroccan students to achieve internationally recognized degrees.

Rabat - It's no question that school is very important when seeking out future employment. In fact, many have said that not having at least a college degree is putting you at a severe disadvantage when it comes to the job market. Add to that the fact that these college degrees mean more from a better school and it's easy to see why schooling is so important.

With school being so important there is a lot of pressure on the student to perform. It's up to them to take all of this pressure upon themselves and still come out with straight A's in hopes of impressing a future employer. Not only is the school work itself hard but add into it the social stresses, extracurricular activities such as sports and things can get messy fast.

It's almost imperative that students of this day and age seek out extra help. Thinking that they can do everything on their own with no help whatsoever is a good way to get overloaded. So, what can one do? Checking with their advisor, joining and participating in online communities and even checking out writing companies such as Assignment Mountains are great places to start.

Check with Advisor

Many people don't know it but at many universities there are student success centers that provide free services. The main goal of these centers is to provide students with resources they need to succeed in school and in life. If you're not sure of whether or not your school has something like this, the best bet would be to check with your advisor. At such centers you will find help with everything from studying for an upcoming test to finding a job. Best of all, these services are usually provided completely free of charge.

Join Online Communities

While student success centers are a great resource, it's no competition to the wealth of knowledge available online. Typically students will take to Google and search for the answer to a problem, but this isn't really solving the issue. Sure, they may be getting a better grade on the assignment due to answering a question correctly but they didn't really learn anything. Luckily, to remedy this, all one needs to do is join an online community. This way they will not only be able to obtain the right answer but they will be able to ask questions about how one would come to that right answer. Depending on the amount of searching you're willing to do, chances are you'll be able to find a community that directly relates to your subject matter no matter what it may be.

Consider Online Writing Companies

If you've gotten help from your advisor, student success centers and online community and still feel you're behind, you do have another option. There are many different online writing companies that will take a load off your shoulders and write your papers for you.

Make note that using these services to simply get out of doing work is not a good idea. When an exam rolls around and information included in the paper is on the exam, you're not going to be in a good spot.