School entry without the “One Million Wallets” initiative Will direct support be enough?

Heba Press_Rabat

The start of the school year for the current season is marked by a new event, that of the cancellation of the “One Million Scholarships” initiative, which has been replaced by direct financial support, paid to families benefiting from the direct social assistance system.

This was stated and confirmed earlier by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the budget, Fawzi Lakjaa, regarding the preparation of a draft decree to disburse additional financial sums to families benefiting from financial assistance. the direct social support system, in the form of fees for each school entry. New funds, which were previously disbursed in kind under the royal initiative “One Million Scholarships”, will help needy beneficiary families reduce the costs and charges related to school admission and education. the acquisition of books and school supplies, which will contribute positively to reducing school waste and improving school enrollment indicators.

This project consists in particular in determining the value of the new amounts that will be granted to families within the framework of subsidies for protection against risks related to childhood concerning their children who study at primary school, preparatory high school and qualifying high school, and who are enrolled in public educational establishments, up to a limit of six children, to be paid once as a fee for the month of September of each year, these amounts being determined as follows:

* 200 dirhams for families with children enrolled in primary or secondary preparatory studies.

* 300 dirhams for the benefit of families with children attending the reintegration high school.

The introductory note, a copy of which was obtained by Heba Press, stated that this amount would not be counted in the amounts usually paid to beneficiary families as a fee each month, the value of which is included in determining the minimum monthly amounts for direct social support.

*** Entrance to school is expensive

There is an expectation tinged with caution at times, and complaint and despair at other times, among the different Moroccan families, the apprehension and fear of entering a school plagued by rising prices and its exorbitant expenses. Many do not hide the magnitude of the situation. their fears of the disavowal of the official authorities and their lack of control over the stability of the markets with regard to the control of prices related to the sale of school supplies. The quantity of notebooks, pens, papers and wallets has reached a frightening increase. , or half and half in colloquial language.

The entry into school for this season is part of an exceptional context with its own characteristic of “high prices in everything”, and it has thus turned into a nightmare that awakens the sleep of a large part of Moroccan families who return from the summer holidays, finding themselves faced with other expenses that harvest the green and dry of the remaining dirhams from the trip and the sea…

***Between choosing public and private education… the equation is difficult

As for the “customers” of public school, as for those who chose private education as an alternative for many reasons, the common denominator remains the fear of “betrayal” by some poor people who consider this to be their only problem. thing, and who treat the logic of profit and performance without pity or mercy, and they are the ones who have not had pity on their customers even in times of crisis, especially in times of Corona…

There is no difference in the fact that the new school year this year brings with it a fragrant breeze of high prices and a huge increase in spending on notebooks, pens, colored pencils and papers, and it is a fever that will inevitably, its contagion has spread to affect the expenses of registration, insurance and monthly contributions in most private schools, due to the greed of the owners of some private institutions, who attributed the matter to the increase in the price of fuel and the incendiary prices. , because they had no choice but to empty the pockets of these ordinary citizens, faced with the rise and persistence of high prices of consumer goods and basic materials and the succession of events that require exceptional budgets, starting with the summer holidays and continuing until the month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr and the end of the school season, especially among the poor and even middle classes, who represent the overwhelming majority of the Moroccan people, the majority of whom resort to borrowing during this period to cover the already dilapidated budget deficit.

*** A choice or a reality imposed by circumstances?

Adel Abu Taha, the father of a student in a private school, said that his choice of private education was born out of necessity due to his wife’s commitment to respect their working hours as a public employee, but on the other hand, he did not hide his fear of the constraints of entering the next school, which will experience a surge at different levels, calling on the government and with it the guardian ministry to intervene and approve the principle of respecting the terms of the discount booklet and. oblige these private institutions to publish it within the framework of the principle of transparency, so that everyone knows their money and what they owe.

The same speaker stated that the services of some private institutions were not up to the requirements despite the considerable increase in enrollment, transportation and teaching expenses, as well as the problem of overcrowding and overcrowding suffered by school buses in some private schools and the deterioration of their transport fleet remains among the problems that need to be resolved and addressed. There is a need to improve the services and their quality in relation to the amount of monthly expenses.
If we approach this particular topic, its objective is not to launch an attack on anyone, but rather to shed at least some light on this sector, which according to some has become a sector known for a kind of speculation to the detriment of poor families and the middle classes. We hope that there will be concerted efforts by all educational and social actors to make this school entry a success that occurs in exceptional circumstances with the taste of high prices in all…