Education: Benmoussa challenged in Parliament
The Minister of National Education, Chakib Benmoussa, was challenged in the House of Representatives during Monday’s question time, to the extent that an MP from the USFP party, Mrs Malika Zekhnini, went so far as to ask him to tender his resignation in view of his appalling failure to manage the teachers’ question. For her, «the absence of a political vision does not preclude political courage. The result is that you haven’t been able to get the education sector back on track», she insisted «The fate of 7 million pupils is hanging in the balance, and the only solution left is to put the apron back on,» she asserted. The leader of the Mouvement Populaire parliamentary group was more conciliatory, confining himself to questioning the existence of a real solution to the current crisis. «But when it comes to learning and knowledge, it takes years for children to recover what they have lost», noted Driss Sentissi.
In their attempt to defend the Minister of Education, majority MPs resorted to outdated arguments, already used months ago at the start of this tug-of-war between teachers and the line ministry. The speech by the head of the RNI parliamentary group was along the same lines. Mohamed Ghyat recalled that the crisis in education was not new, but goes back 15 years. A short while ago, he was talking about a 30-year crisis. One needs to follow through on one’s ideas, said one observer. But no matter, Chakib Benmoussa remained steadfast. In his reply, the Minister ignored the opposition’s rejoinders, contenting himself with his cards and emphasizing that the sectoral dialogue had led to an improvement in teachers’ material conditions. To convince the MPs, Chakib Benmoussa gave the example of a primary school teacher who starts his working life with a salary of 5,100 Dirhams (US 510) net per month. This salary will rise to 6,600 Dirhams (US 660), that is to says an increase of 30%. At the end of their career, primary school teachers earn 10,600 Dirhams (US 1060) per month. This end-of-career salary will rise to 15,000 Dirhams (US 1,500), an increase of 41%. «These figures are provided just to give an idea of the financial effort required to ensure social peace in the sector», stressed the Minister. He recalled that going on strike is a constitutional right, but at the same time it is a matter of guaranteeing the normal running of schools, added Chakib Benmoussa. It is for this reason that the Ministry of Education has taken disciplinary measures against all those who obstruct the public education service and encroach on pupils’ right to normal schooling … And Chakib Benmoussa went on to list the verbal abuse, harassment, and attacks against teachers who have decided not to follow through with the call to strike… all these are elements which explain the measures taken by the Ministry against teachers, because, with these problems, we’re in a situation where we have to take action. The Minister recalled that there are 7 million pupils in public education and 5 million families, to correct the assertions of parliamentarians who had spoken of 7 million families.
Khadija MASMOUDI
