Calls Grow for Braille Inclusion in National Exams Amid Systemic Barriers

As Morocco observes National Disability Week from May 21 to 26, calls are growing louder to include Braille in national exams for blind students. 

While advocates argue this is a matter of educational equity and human rights, efforts to implement the change continue to be stalled by a lack of teacher training, poor early education policies, and the absence of a unified national strategy.

In most Moroccan schools, blind students still rely on personal aides to complete exams, a practice that raises concerns about academic integrity and autonomy. 

Abdel Latif El Moumni, an Arabic teacher at the Mohammed V Institute for the Blind in Fez, told Hespress that nearly half of his students do not master Braille by high school.

“Untrained sighted teachers are being assigned to blind students in primary school,” he said. “The result is that students enter secondary education without the skills needed for Braille-based exams.”

He added that proposals to pilot Braille exams at the sixth and ninth-grade levels have been rejected by regional education authorities. Meanwhile, blind teachers, who are often best equipped to teach Braille, are typically limited to a few hours of instruction per week and only in select subjects.

The Rabat-Salé-Kénitra office cited the ongoing rollout of inclusive education programs. Only the Marrakech-Safi Academy confirmed limited use of Braille exams in recent ninth-grade assessments.

Reem Ghajdam, a blind student at the Higher Institute of Information and Communication, shared that writing full exams in Braille poses physical and mental challenges.

“One three-hour exam can take six pages of Braille, which is exhausting,” she said. She also raised concerns about grading fairness, noting that the limited number of qualified Braille correctors could lead to bias or compromised anonymity.

Mohamed Allouch, another teacher at the Fez institute, argued that Braille exams are possible if the Ministry of Education acts with urgency.

 He suggested forming regional committees that include Braille-proficient educators to prepare and grade exams, and ensuring at least one Braille printer per region.

“Some students want independence and work hard to use Braille,” he said. “We need to give them that opportunity.”

Abderrazak Bougnabour, a visual impairment expert with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), insisted that adopting Braille exams is both feasible and necessary.

He pointed to international models in France and the UK, where blind students receive extra time and take exams in Braille, with grading done by trained professionals.

 He called for similar standards in Morocco, emphasizing the need for partnerships between the Ministry of Education and NGOs to create a national framework.

“Braille in exams is not a luxury,” Bougnabour said. “It’s a constitutional and international right.”

While Morocco’s 2019 inclusive education program and Framework Law 51.17 laid the foundation for accessibility, experts say implementation has been slow and uneven. Bougnabour urged the creation of a national exam guide for blind students, investment in training, and digital Braille integration.