Controversy over draft law to bolster French in Moroccan education system

Doaa Emam

The Justice and Development Party (JDP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Morocco, has stirred controversy regarding a draft law stipulating the use of French as a language of instruction for scientific and technical subjects in Moroccan schools

Moroccan lawmakers passed a draft law in July evening that would pave the way for strengthening the place of French in Moroccan schools, overturning decades of Arabization.

Most members of the mainly Islamist co-ruling JDP and conservative Istiqlal lawmakers abstained from voting on the articles stipulating the use of French as a language of instruction.

Members of the JDP expressed their rejection against the party’s recent decision for being inconsistent with the ideological line of the party, also, head of Attawhid Wal’islah Organization, Sheikh Abdel Rehem Sheikhi.

For his part, Ahmed Al-Raysuni, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has said the government and the JDP are slaying the Arabic language and then praise it in front of the people.

AlRaysuni added that members of the JDP are speaking of the failure of Arabization, which led to the failure of education, unemployment and catching up with civilization. He also accused that the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated government is the reason behind the failure of education in Morocco.

Two out of three people fail to complete their studies at public universities in Morocco, mainly because they do not speak French, according to education ministry figures.

To curb the number of university dropouts and equip people with the language requirements needed for jobs, the government proposed reintroducing French as a language of teaching science, mathematics and technical subjects.

The adoption of the draft law irked advocates of Arabization, including the former secretary general of the PJD party, Abdelilah Benkirane, who described the reintroduction of the language of the former colonial power as a betrayal of the “party’s principles.”

Also, two Parliament members from a coalition of leftist parties, Omar Balafrej and Mostafa Chennaoui, voted against the draft law after the rejection of their amendments to enshrine a tax on wealth and a progressive inheritance tax to fund education reform.