Marrakech- With a kind smile and obvious patience, primary school teacher Abdel Ghafour Hazem welcomes his new students one by one, seeking through his friendly talk mixed with light humor to create a comfortable and encouraging atmosphere that enables him to evaluate their academic levels through individual tests, in his school that was chosen by the Ministry of National Education as part of the “Pioneering School” project.
“After returning from vacation, we found the school in a new look, and our departments are equipped for the first time with several different educational methods, which may facilitate our daily work and help us implement new teaching methods,” Hazem told Al Jazeera Net, as he reviewed the test results on the Masar educational platform (a digital platform to facilitate educational services).
He added, “However, on the other hand, we face major challenges due to the huge amount of administrative procedures that must be carried out. The amount of documents that must be audited and files that must be filled out in paper and electronic form is increasing day after day, which consumes a great deal of time and effort.”
Quality bet
Professor Hazem is involved in a new experiment by the Ministry of Education by adopting the “teaching according to the appropriate level” approach, or what is known as leadership schools. It began in 628 primary schools, then expanded to include 2,628 primary schools and 230 preparatory schools at the beginning of the current academic year.
This project, inspired by an Indian experience, depends on allocating more time and effort to students who struggle in reading, writing and arithmetic. This is done by using “explicit education” techniques and providing ready-made lessons, with the aim of completely neutralizing the impact of the teacher.
Hazem, who received intensive training for 8 days, confirms that the Minister of Education, Chakib Benmoussa, attaches great importance to this project, and sees it as a solution to save public education in the Kingdom from its critical situation.
Despite official optimism about the project's initial results, education researcher Said Akhitouch warns against excessive optimism and considering the project a magic solution to all of Morocco's education problems.
He confirmed – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that this project is an attempt by the ministry to overcome the harsh criticism directed at the education system, especially by international donor institutions.
For his part, educational expert Abdel Nasser Al-Naji – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – believes that leadership schools focus on activating school life, in order to make the quality of education the central goal of reforming Moroccan schools.
While educational inspector Mouloud Ajraoui points out that the new development model considered the human element a decisive factor in achieving success, and one of its strategic choices was “quality education for all.”
loopholes
The experience of Al Riyada Schools is distinguished by several innovative teaching methods and educational games, to establish an atmosphere of fun and competition during the class and break the barrier of fear of making mistakes, with a focus on building capabilities instead of techniques, in addition to independence in achievement.
With his field experience, Ajrawi notices some gaps, and believes that this approach focuses largely on the cognitive aspect, ignoring the psychological, social, economic and cultural aspects that influence the learning process, highlighting that it lowers the level of educational content to suit weak learners, instead of raising the level of these learners to keep up with this content.
On the other hand, Al-Naji notes that John Hattie himself (an educationalist known for his research on the factors influencing learning) believes that the explicit teaching approach has its limits, especially when it comes to developing critical thinking and creativity skills.
The educational expert stresses the importance of combining this approach with other teaching methods that are more interactive and learner-centered.
“While the selective implementation of this project, especially in leadership schools, allows for improving the quality of basic learning, it is not enough for the learner to become a citizen capable of innovation and facing the challenges of the future,” he added.
Concerns
Despite his apparent enthusiasm, Hazem does not hide his fears, which increase upon reading the opinion of researcher Akhitouch, who accuses the project of relying on models imported from other environments without taking into account the specificity of the Moroccan context. He also says that the promotion of the project’s successes was exaggerated and not supported by sufficient scientific evidence.
The researcher also points to the collapse of the basic pillars of the project, represented by motivation and certification, after the battle of the basic system that the teachers fought, as the financial grant that the ministry was counting on to ensure actual and serious engagement diminished after the approval of the wage increase.
It raises other problems such as neglecting the Amazigh language and not integrating it into the project, ignoring the private education sector, and returning to the monopoly of school books.
International comparison
When someone hears the phrase “pioneering school,” a number of successful international experiences come to mind, which made Hazem enthusiastic about the experience and he and others aspire for it to answer the question of saving the Moroccan school.
But educational expert Akhitoush asserts that comparing the Moroccan and Saudi experiences, for example – in terms of methods – is like the difference between the sun and the moon, as he puts it.
He explains that the Saudi Leadership School is advanced, focusing on teaching science and technology through programming and artificial intelligence education programs and the skills integration system, which is one of the most modern education systems in the world, then focusing on moral education and skill development through the application of the Japanese Tokkatsu education, then focusing on teaching languages as tools for teaching future skills.
Akhitouch points out that talking about saving the Moroccan school requires taking into account the cumulative path of educational reform and renewal, the position of the educational system within the international environment, the Moroccans’ view of their children’s education, and the image of the school they want for the coming years.
He points out the threats that the project poses to the achievements of Moroccans, such as the title of “Queen of Mathematics in Africa” and Morocco’s ranking in the African and international Mathematics Olympiad, and the number of students who succeed in enrolling in international higher schools such as the “French Polytechnic”, stressing that it was possible to develop what was achieved without resorting to external organizations or approving very expensive structural renovations.
