Actors in the field of education were waiting, after the 2011 constitution, for the two official languages to gain a distinct status in the educational system, but this did not materialize.
A recent report on the quality of education and training in Morocco under the 2011 constitution recorded a decline in Arabic and Tamazight as the two languages of instruction in the Moroccan public school.
The report, prepared by the non-governmental Moroccan Association for the Improvement of Education Quality, revealed that “the Arabic language is no longer a language of instruction, at least for scientific and technical subjects and at all levels of the system, which made its size shrink to about half in compulsory education.”
The report, which Sky News Arabia obtained a copy of, stated that “the number of hours of the Arabic language, whether as a language of instruction or as a school language, will decrease from 6,290 before establishing the language rotation to 3,468 after it.”
“In contrast, the French language share will double, moving from 2,788 before the linguistic rotation to 5610 after it, thus becoming the dominant language in the teaching time,” he added.
Too much empowerment of French
In his interpretation of this French linguistic expansion at the expense of the two official languages in the Moroccan educational system, the educational expert Abdel Nasser Naji believes that “the principle of linguistic alternation between Arabic and French, which was approved by the strategic vision, when it was turned into a framework law, was interpreted in favor of the French language, which became the language of Teaching science and technology.
And he indicated that “because of that decision, the presence of the Arabic language was dwarfed at the time of teaching, to become close to one-third, while French became occupying two-thirds of the Moroccan student’s learning time.”
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, Naji stressed that “it is natural for the controversy to continue regarding the languages of instruction, in light of the insistence of some on the excessive empowerment of the French language, despite all studies and research that confirm that there is no desired quality from an educational system that does not adopt its languages.” official teaching.
The educational expert also pointed out that “the Arabic language has proven that it is capable of possessing the cornerstone of knowledge, in addition to its lexical richness, which far exceeds the most widely spoken languages in the world today, which makes it a language capable of endless reproduction.”
Difficulties in front of the Amazigh
On the other hand, the Berber language in Morocco is living in more difficult conditions compared to Arabic, especially since it entered public schools only at the beginning of the millennium.
The Ministry of National Education has been involved in the process of teaching the Amazigh language for more than 19 years, in partnership with the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture, an official body.
The report of the Moroccan Association for the Improvement of Education Quality stated that “the teaching of the Amazigh language to Moroccans is still encountered by difficulties that prevent it from achieving the ambition of universalization defined by the strategic vision 2015-2030.”
This vision was launched by the “Supreme Council for Education and Training”, to establish a new school based on equity, equal opportunities and quality for all, and the advancement of the individual and society.
The Moroccan Association for the Improvement of Education Quality noted that “the coverage of Tamazight teaching is still within 15 percent of all primary students,” expecting that “if the same trend continues, the generalization of Tamazight teaching will not be achieved until after 50 years.”
Jawad Al-Zouba, a professor of Tamazight at the Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador, affiliated with Mohammed I University, believes that “the reality of teaching the Amazigh language in the Moroccan school is characterized by ambiguity and regression.”
In his speech to Sky News Arabia, Al-Zawba considered that the success of teaching this official language “depends on activating the legal protection of Tamazight in all fields, by giving it a real position in the linguistic measure, and the position it deserves as an official language in the 2011 constitution, within the framework of a just linguistic and cultural policy.” fair and equitable in order to build a state for all citizens.
The academic and researcher in Amazigh linguistics pointed out to “several reasons that have controlled the failure of teaching the Amazigh language in the Moroccan educational system since its launch in the 2002-2003 school season, including the failure to activate a set of ministerial notes related to the organization and generalization of the teaching of Tamazight in public education, in addition to the The selection of a very small number of professors specialized in this language will not contribute to the generalization of its teaching at all levels and study paths for a long period of time.
The Tamazight professor concluded that “in this way the issue of teaching Tamazight is dealt with, and in the complete absence of a law framing specialization in primary education, we cannot talk about the generalization of its teaching for a decade.”
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