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Bourkia: Education is an Investment in the Generation and a Component for Sustainable Development
The President of the Higher Council for Education, Training, and Scientific Research, Rahma Bourkia, affirmed yesterday, Wednesday, in Rabat, that understanding the reality of the educational and training system is an ongoing support for its development path, contributing to making it one of the core elements of sustainable development and a fundamental pillar for the advancement of individuals and society.
In her speech at the opening of the 11th session of the second term of the Council’s General Assembly, Bourkia stated that the Council “has always, in its evaluations, analyses, opinions, and reports, objectively highlighted the educational reality in our country, demonstrating the progress of reforms, the achievements made by the components of the education, training, and scientific research system, while also revealing the shortcomings that afflict this system, which require intensified efforts to overcome.”
She added that “this balanced approach has proven its validity and effectiveness, which necessitates that we continue along this path,” noting that “one cannot talk about education and training without considering the aspirations and ambitions of a wide segment of Moroccan families, who place great hopes on schools for the education and training of their daughters and sons, and to open the best avenues for their integration into professional life, thus enabling them to smoothly ascend the social ladder.”
The Council’s President emphasized that “any investment in education and training, including vocational training, is an investment in the generation that will lead our country into the future,” indicating that this represents a motivation for the Council’s components to fulfill their duties with commitment and credibility as reflected in their productions and objective evaluations.
Furthermore, Bourkia noted that the era of reforms requires a resolute and renewed spirit, comprehensive mobilization, and continuity in implementing projects without any interruptions that could negatively impact the progress of these reforms. She added that it also necessitates the contribution of all stakeholders in the education and training system to achieve the qualitative leap required by the current phase, which involves overcoming barriers that hinder the transition from reform activation to transformative dynamics.
She continued, saying, “Our Council cannot be active and effective in the educational field without investing in institutional training, the efficiency of its bodies, and the development of capacities of the staff accompanying the Council’s committees, considering the developments and new dynamics in research, whether in the field of educational sciences or in neuroscience, not to mention the evident impact of artificial intelligence on methods of education, training, and learning.”
After highlighting that the field of education and training is entering a new era globally, marked by artificial intelligence and the increasing use of digital media by youth in education and training, Bourkia stressed the importance of taking this factor into account in all conceptualizations regarding education and training methods. She asserted that educational systems must pay special attention to these emergent phenomena, as the ways in which they are utilized and their determinants now compete with, and at times replace, traditional educational practices.
On another note, Bourkia explained that the Higher Council for Education and Scientific Research is working on preparing a work plan for the second half of its current term, which was presented to the Council’s Bureau, alongside the completion of all reports programmed during the first half of this term, emphasizing that the mentioned work plan is based on three main approaches.
In this context, she highlighted that the first approach is represented by the anticipated contributions of the Council to the public discussion on education, training, and scientific research at both national and regional levels. The second approach concerns comprehensive evaluation, where the Council, at the beginning of this year, will complete a comprehensive assessment of the decade of reform (2015-2025), similar to the assessment it conducted in 2014 when it issued an evaluative report on the decade of implementing the national charter for education and training.
She added that the third main approach concerns the work of the Council’s committees that will focus on structural issues related to the education, training, and scientific research system, noting that these issues “are still resistant to reform and hinder the acceleration of our educational system toward the level of its counterparts in advanced nations.”
Bourkia concluded that the aim of these efforts is for the opinions and reports of the Council to be of confirmed benefit, adding value to educational policies, capturing the interest of those responsible for sectors related to education, training, and scientific research, and embodying the Council’s commitment to fulfill its responsibilities as granted by the constitution.
The agenda of the 11th session of the second term of the Higher Council for Education, Training, and Scientific Research, which continues until tomorrow, Thursday, includes presenting two reports: the first by the Minister of National Education, Preschool, and Sports on “the school year and developments in the sector,” and the second by the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation on “the university year and developments in the sector.”
This session will also witness the examination and approval of two draft reports prepared by the permanent committee responsible for education, training for all, and accessibility, which relate to the topics of “positive discrimination in school education as a pivotal lever for reducing social and territorial inequality” and “the quality reference framework.”
Additionally, there will be discussions and approval of the annual report on the results and prospects of the Council’s work for the year 2024, along with the consideration and approval of the Council’s work program for 2026, as well as discussions concerning the execution of the Council’s budget for the year 2025 and the draft budget for the fiscal year 2026.
