Midawi: Settles the Debate on Free Education and Reveals University Presidents’ Appointment Mechanisms
The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation, Azeddine Midawi, confirmed today, Wednesday, that free higher education in Morocco is a settled issue with no room for debate, emphasizing that the framework law related to the education and training system has definitively resolved this matter.
While presenting the higher education bill before the Education, Culture, and Communication Committee in the House of Representatives, Midawi stated: “The framework law has firmly settled the issue; no new legislation can undermine the principle of free education.” He noted that any attempt to alter this principle would meet immediate rejection from the Higher Council for Education and Training, which will intervene to uphold the Constitution and the provisions of the framework law.
On another note, the minister addressed the issue of unrecognized continuing education, pointing out the significant demand for such programs offered by universities for a fee, often during weekends, but which provide certificates not recognized by the state.
Midawi asserted that the ministry has provided alternatives through what is known as facilitated training, which allows employees to receive nationally recognized continuing education and obtain a basic certificate, provided they benefit from this training. He also stressed the need to refine the legal framework for continuing education certificates by including the phrase “continuing education” to prevent the exploitation of unrecognized certificates for entering the job market, mentioning that there have been cases that reached the courts against professors and university officials.
Regarding the appointment of university and institutional presidents, the minister disclosed the adoption of a mechanism known as the “specifications document” to regulate the selection process, due to the high number of nominations (33 to 35 applications), requiring significant effort from the selection committee to conduct interviews, which takes two months of dedicated work. Midawi affirmed the principle of objectivity, stating: “Knowledge has no color, taste, or smell.”
The minister explained that the specifications document will define the conditions and experience required for candidates for the position of university president, excluding, for example, the possibility of a teaching assistant applying. Under this mechanism, the committee will invite only seven candidates to choose the university president from among them.
