HIBAPRESS – Ahmed Al-Musaid
During his intervention during the meeting of the Education, Culture, and Communication Committee to discuss the 2025/2026 school entry, MP Omar Aanan, from the Socialist Group, launched harsh criticisms of the social and educational reality that accompanies the start of the new school year, considering public schools are received as a "burden, not a horizon for advancement".
Aanan opened his intervention by drawing a condensed scene that summarizes the school entry crisis, referring to the student who returns to school "lacking hope", surrounded by a family burdened by "deep anxiety" due to the costs of living, and a "graduate and unemployed" young man who reads in his features the "bitterness of long waiting".
The parliamentarian stressed the need to speak "realistically and responsibly" about a school entry that comes in the context of the "cry of a new generation of Moroccan youth, Generation 'Z', who are demanding real reform that restores the public school to its mission as a "lever for social justice".
Aanan sharply questioned: "Will the government listen to the voice of an entire generation demanding education that befits its dignity and ambitions?", stressing that the school entry has become a "mirror of a faltering reality" burdened by structural imbalances, such as overcrowding, weak infrastructure, a shortage of staff, and the absence of spatial justice.
Despite his appreciation for the efforts made to implement the 2022-2026 roadmap, the parliamentarian recorded "with concern the continuation of the gap between perception and implementation". He pointed out that the "Pioneering Schools" project, despite its importance, remains "limited in impact" as long as it is surrounded by institutions that suffer from weak staffing and equipment.
Aanan warned of the dangers of rushing to generalize the project, pointing out reports indicating that it suffers from "a lack of fairness, regional disparities, and a weakness in resources", which may lead to "a decline in quality and a weakening of sustainability". He also criticized the comprehensive approach adopted in addressing the weakness of basic skills, stressing that it "does not take into account individual differences" and may contribute to "a decline in the level of high achievers".
In a reference that is the most controversial in the intervention, the MP directed a scathing critique of the quality of educational content, expressing surprise at a text in the fourth-grade art education book that includes "superficial" and meaningless phrases such as: "He performs movements with his sword Bah! Bam! Baq! Traq! Tarlataq! Saq! Sarmalaq! Zadaf! Zardalaf…".
Aanan denounced, saying: "With such trivial content, are we forming the Pioneering Generation? Where are the aesthetic values, creative imagination, and artistic taste?", launching a clear call "Let us shout and call out 'Wa Bukmakhah!!!!'" in an expression of shock at the level of the curricula.
The parliamentarian also reminded the government of the speech of His Majesty the King before Parliament, which focused on a fundamental triad to ensure social stability: advancing education, generalizing access to health, and providing job opportunities for young people. He considered that this triad represents the essence of the "Federal societal project" and the demands expressed by the new generation.
Aanan concluded his intervention by emphasizing that the education crisis "is deeper than being reduced to management imbalances", as it is the result of a historical accumulation of "economic and social choices that have produced stark spatial disparities", stressing that the reform of the Moroccan school will not be achieved except through a collective national vision that restores the public school to its role as a "lever for social and spatial justice".
