The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, confirmed Wednesday at a press conference in Rabat that the start of the academic year of 2023-2024 will mark the launch of the national plan to accelerate the transformation of the higher education, scientific research and innovation system, or Pact ESRI-2030.
The programs that will start this year are related to establishing a new pedagogical approach, promoting scientific research and innovation, and strengthening the governance of the Moroccan university system.
Miraoui also noted that the overall number of university students in Morocco has increased 6.8% since last year, reaching a total of 1.3 million students, 94% of whom enrolled in public universities.
The minister pointed out that much of this increase in student population was seen in institutions with limited abilities to keep pace with the new projects, including the training program for engineers and administrative and technical staff, as well as the program for training 10,000 social workers.
Additionally, the current academic year will also focus on strengthening universities abilities to get their students into the job market. This includes the expansion and diversification of undergraduate training programs, with the number of accredited programs increasing from 570 the previous year to 1,037.
The minister announced the launch of a new student registration system that would not only allow them to register for classes faster, but also allow them to have better and more efficient access to their university documents.
Miraoui also announced that the ministry will increase space in student residence halls by 5,520 beds and the expansion of the number of students covered by the Mandatory Health Insurance (AMO) to 600,000 beneficiaries.
The new pedagogical approach in the bachelor’s degree program is considered one of the priorities of these programs for the 2023-2024 Academic Year. Minister Miraoui specified several new features of the bachelor’s degree program, including a focus on digital education, foreign languages, a standardized credit system, and improving programs that allow for students to experience more national and international mobility.
The universities will also develop extra-curricular activities such as cultural events, sports, and volunteer work, to be integrated into the overall training program, and these activities will be included on the students’ diplomas in a special annex.
The ministry will also launch a number of new open-access associate’s degree (BAC +2) programs in the 2023-2024 academic year. 63 “centers of excellence” have already been established and have received the applications of approximately 66,000 applications for 18,730 available places.
In terms of promoting scientific research and innovation, the minister noted the launch of a program to train 1,000 next-generation doctoral students who, in addition to conducting scientific research, will serve as teaching assistants for a monthly stipend of 7,000 dirhams.
The minister went on to say that three thematic research institutes will be established this year: the Water Research Institute, the Biotechnology Research Institute, and the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute. He also announced the creation of three new “innovation sites” to enhance the results of scientific research. These will be added to the six existing sites.
The above-mentioned programs will be accompanied by the launch of a number of digital platforms to manage their rollout, as well as digital platforms related to the management of student academic issues, including assisting them with diploma equivalency issues.