Mohamed Saad Berrada, Morocco’s Minister of National Education, Preschool, and Sports, defended the exemption of holders of a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Sciences from the preliminary selection phase for admission to the teaching qualification program at regional centers for education professions. He stated that this aims to make the university path for graduates in this specialization “motivating” and that the allocation of a quota for holders of basic degrees occurs automatically.
In a written response to a query regarding “Holders of basic degrees and the demand for participation in the education entrance exams,” Berrada confirmed that the application files for the teaching exams are subject, “first, to monitoring and verification of whether candidates meet the required conditions, and then to a preliminary selection, in compliance with the applicable regulatory provisions by the examination committees established for this purpose.”
In this context, the minister reminded that “holders of a degree in education or its equivalent” and “holders of a degree in one of the educational tracks or its equivalent” are exempt from the preliminary selection process. This point has consistently sparked discussions regarding “equal opportunities” between graduates of these tracks and holders of basic degree diplomas each year when announcing the education exams.
Berrada justified this measure, stating that “holders of a degree in education have a defined professional path in education,” explaining that this process aims to “make the university journey of holders of a degree in education motivating.”
As for candidates with basic degrees, in the same response to the aforementioned question raised by Ibrahim Abba, a member of the Movement party, the Minister of Education noted that “the decision organizing these exams does not exclude this category; it gives them the right to apply, with their application files being subject to preliminary selection.”
The government official relied on “current data,” pointing out that “the majority of candidates who pass these exams are holders of basic degrees.”
Berrada mentioned that “the idea of allocating a quota (for the latter category) occurs automatically, based on the seats allocated for these exams, which are benefited by holders of basic degrees,” emphasizing that “demanding a dedicated quota for this category necessarily means that application files are subject to preliminary selection, given that the number of applications greatly exceeds the number of seats,” noting that “this applies to what is currently practiced.”
The ministry, through the government’s response, affirmed its “commitment to respecting all principles and rules related to achieving fairness and equal opportunities among all candidates for these exams,” as well as “its efforts to implement mechanisms and evaluation tools to select the best candidates for teaching tasks.”
The same response reminded that “the ministry annually organizes exams for admission to the teaching qualification program at regional centers for education professions through a set of procedures aimed at selecting the best candidates,” recalling that “a large number of applications are registered, and to ensure proper management of the conduct of these exams according to established procedures for selecting the best candidates.”
