At the opening session of the board of directors of the AREF (Regional Academy of Education and Training) and in the presence of the Wali of the Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen region and Governor of the Kenitra province, Ahmed Moussaoui, the Minister emphasised the need to stabilise the education system while awaiting a diagnosis of the current situation and an evaluation of the emergency programme scheduled for July 2012.
He also expressed the need to promote governance in schools and educational administrations. In this regard, he explained that the ministry had taken a set of measures, namely: the cancellation of notes 122 and 204 to adapt school hours to the specificities of the regions. "The development and proposal of school hours," he added, "will henceforth be the responsibility of the teacher and the administration, subject to the approval of the inspector." The Minister also insisted on the re-establishment of the usual evaluation process. Regarding the Supreme Council for Education and Training, Mr. El Ouafa expressed his intention to revise its composition and powers so that it can effectively carry out its essential functions. He subsequently revealed that the new status of the teaching staff is currently being prepared in consultation with union representatives. A step he described as essential to do justice to and value the teaching profession, hence the establishment of regional centres for education and training professions, considered as high-level training institutions.
The Minister also indicated on this occasion the creation of a steering committee that will be responsible for preparing the start of the school year, reviewing measures, and general conditions to ensure a successful school year. In this context, he insisted on the need to minimise the problems faced by the education sector, emphasising the primary role of the teacher in the education system. Subsequently, the finance and economic affairs committee presented its report while praising the efforts made by all components of the regional education system to improve indicators and seek effective solutions to overcome constraints and obstacles. A main recommendation emerged from this report, namely the need to strengthen the 2012 budget in order to develop indicators, expand educational provision, and rehabilitate establishments. The committee recommended maintaining all creation projects scheduled by the AREF for the year 2011 and adding the new programmes mentioned in the regional action plan. The report also recommends maintaining preferential rates aimed at connecting schools to water and electricity networks.
In the same context, the director of the AREF, Abdellatif Youssoufi, presented a report highlighting the development of the regional education system, focusing on themes of the action plan such as the generalisation of education, the expansion of educational provision, the rehabilitation of schools and social support, the management of establishments, and the strengthening of human resource capacities for the improvement of governance. To conclude, Mr. Youssoufi stressed that the AREF was keen to activate all organisational mechanisms to ensure support at all levels, promote a culture of initiative through field monitoring work, and evaluate different processes at all stages of the education system. In their interventions, the members of the AREF board of directors praised the efforts made by the ministry, the AREF, and the provincial delegations of the MEN.
Efforts that have led to satisfactory results aimed at improving management methods and helping to meet challenges. The speakers also invited the ministry to pay particular attention to the repercussions that the recorded lack of human resources and the insufficiency of classrooms may have on the next school year. In this sense, they addressed a request recommending that more efforts be made to expand pre-school provision, strengthen school transport, and increase the budget allocated to the region. At the end of the session, the AREF board of directors unanimously approved the budget project for the year 2012. It also approved the law on AREF contracts.
In his comments on the interventions of the board members, the Minister of National Education reminded the audience that the State has opted for the strategic choice of decentralisation. Thus, access to this contractual approach between the State, represented by the Ministry of National Education, and the AREF is based on the criterion of achieving objectives. The Minister stressed that everything concerning the Moroccan school should be managed within the AREF board of directors. He added that during the next board meeting, scheduled for July 2012, all these issues would be analysed and dealt with in detail.
