The Minister of Higher Education Reveals Shocking Issues in Moroccan Universities: Overcrowding, Outdated Structures, and Unspent Budgets
The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation, Azeddine Midawi, revealed alarming data regarding the state of Moroccan universities during a question-and-answer session before the Education, Culture, and Communication Committee in Parliament on Wednesday.
The Minister explained that several universities are not utilizing their allocated budgets, despite limited financial resources. He attributed this to issues within organizational structures and a lack of accurate information systems, rather than solely to procedural difficulties.
Midawi criticized the absence of a comprehensive information system in Moroccan universities, lamenting that it “breaks the heart,” as the ministry responsible for higher education, scientific research, and innovation lacks a fundamental tool for management and decision-making. This situation contributes to conflicting statistics regarding student numbers and undermines effective planning.
He pointed out a severe overcrowding issue in universities, with some institutions exceeding 160,000 students. No university in the country has fewer than 80,000 students, and the national average is around 95,000 students, which leads to inadequate pedagogical support—averaging one instructor for every 250 students, compared to the international standard of 10 to 15 students per instructor.
The Minister emphasized that current university structures have become outdated and do not meet current challenges, noting that some administrative councils take 24 hours to make decisions that could be resolved in just two hours, negatively impacting management efficiency.
He expressed regret over the suspension of the university contracting system, which the kingdom had implemented between 2009 and 2012, and condemned the lack of continuous evaluation of institutions, obstructing the achievement of desired university autonomy.
Midawi revealed that some universities did not receive state support this year due to their failure to utilize the previous budget, stressing that the state cannot borrow and incur interest without spending those funds in a timely manner. He clarified that the Ministry of Education has closely monitored this file, which enabled the signing of all university budgets for the first time in March and April.
He highlighted weak academic performance, noting that absenteeism rates for the first semester reach 40%, attributing this to phenomena such as students enrolling solely to benefit from grants before transitioning to vocational training.
The Minister stated that the alignment of universities with the job market remains absent, asserting that “no one has asked universities to prepare specific profiles.” He noted that higher education worldwide often begins with two general years before specialization, urging a relative and contextual interpretation of graduate unemployment rates.
