A professor at Ibn Tofail University, who asked not to be named, said faculty members rejected the new system because they had not been involved in its development. He added that their demands for logistical support prior to the plan’s implementation had not been answered, and that the exact number of students in the trial period had not been determined.
Another negative aspect of the new system is that it adds a foundation year allocated to solving problems of language and general university culture. Those issues should be addressed in pre-university education, the professor said.
Another member of the faculty at Ibn Tofail University said the current period of experimentation was not a good measure for judging the system because of the limited numbers involved. If the system were applied to all of Morocco’s approximately 1.3 million higher-education students, the professor said, government bodies would have to take parallel measures, such as providing infrastructure and appropriate logistical means and improving conditions and resources for professors, researchers, and administrators.
During a parliamentary session this month, Morocco’s minister of higher education, Abdellatif Miraoui, agreed with some of the criticisms of the new system raised by the Supreme Council for Education and Training. The ministry did not respond, however, to a request by Al-Fanar Media for comment.
A Student’s Experience
Despite the higher-level debates, some students who have started studying under the new system say it is “much better” than the old system.
Musab Shari’i is one of those students. He is in his first year at the Faculty of Law at Mohammed V University, after passing an online test in general information, which all applicants took during the trial period. Shari’i obtained an educational certificate in media under the old system at Ibn Tofail University, before beginning his law course this year under the new system.
Shari’i said he decided to enroll in the study after forming good impressions of the system while researching how it worked in other countries, including the United States.
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He said: “The experience is very good because the number of students in the classroom is limited to about 85, and there is more communication with professors who can address students’ language weaknesses during the qualifying year.”
Shari’i said the new bachelor’s degree system should be continued only if student numbers remain limited.
He added that students were very worried about what would happen if the ministry retracted the new bachelor’s degree system now.
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