Barada: Education Reform Faces Resistance from Some Administrators and 2,500 Teachers Have Left the Classrooms
The Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Mohammed Saad Barada, acknowledged the structural difficulties hindering educational reform, asserting that a comprehensive change in the sector requires at least ten years of continuous work and gradual reform.
During a meeting of the Education, Culture, and Communication Committee in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Barada revealed a controversial statistic regarding the exodus of skilled teachers from classrooms, indicating that approximately 2,500 teaching staff members are assigned to administrative or external tasks and are not performing their original duties, exacerbating the shortage of educational personnel. He stated, “The best educators have left, and those who remain have a passion for teaching.”
The minister added that this loss cannot continue, emphasizing that since taking office, he has refused to authorize any new requests for transfers, saying, “Enough is enough; education should not continue losing anyone, and qualified personnel must remain in the classroom.” He pointed out that retaining qualified educators in classrooms is essential for the success of any educational reform.
Speaking about the “Leadership Schools” project, Barada explained that the ministry sought the assistance of an independent institution to evaluate the project’s effectiveness, revealing that preliminary results indicated concerning disparities in evaluations between teachers and inspectors, reaching up to 20 points in some cases. He noted that these disparities reflect unregulated practices, as some institutions achieved “high results despite low student performance,” accusing some teachers of “inflating grades without justification” in the absence of effective oversight from inspectors.
The minister affirmed that changing mindsets represents the biggest challenge facing reform, noting that some administrators refuse to allocate the necessary budgets or implement support programs despite available resources. He added, “There are administrators who do not spend the budget, and there are inspectors who say no one can oversee me.”
Barada stressed that changing mentalities requires time, patience, and strict monitoring, highlighting existing imbalances in the incentive system, where some inspectors earn salaries that sometimes exceed those of central administrators.
Regarding improving learning outcomes, the minister mentioned that the ministry is working on reviewing curricula and integrating technology into education, as well as printing textbooks at symbolic prices not exceeding 20 dirhams for sets of mathematics and French language books to support low-income families and achieve equity of opportunity.
Barada clarified that the “Leadership Schools” project places special emphasis on combating school dropout rates, particularly in the middle school stage, where the repetition rate reaches 70%. He underscored that new measures, such as establishing educational vigilance cells, have begun to yield tangible results, reducing dropouts by 10% in model institutions.
The minister concluded by reiterating that educational reform is a “long and complex journey,” urging patience and realism, stating, “Education reform requires at least ten years, and real results will emerge gradually, with evidence and commitment, class by class.”
