Preschool teachers staged a sit-in outside Parliament in Rabat on Monday evening before security forces intervened to disperse them, as part of a broader protest movement calling for better pay, improved working conditions and greater job security.
The sit-in followed an afternoon demonstration attended by hundreds of teachers and organized by a coordination body representing three unions. Protesters denounced what they described as officials’ continued neglect of the preschool education sector.
Higher pay and public-sector employment
Preschool teachers are calling for integration into the public sector, higher wages to help them cope with rising living costs, and a clear regulatory framework defining their employment conditions, duties, rights and responsibilities.
Many teachers are employed by associations rather than directly by the Ministry of National Education, according to Fatima El Kelaai, a preschool teacher and union representative in Jerada.
Hajar Sebai Idrissi, a member of the National Coordination of Preschool Teachers, said some teachers earn no more than MAD 3,000 a month, while monthly pensions can be as low as MAD 600.
Clearer duties and better working conditions
Teachers are also demanding clearer boundaries around their professional responsibilities.
El Kelaai said the associations employing them assign additional tasks related to children’s health and well-being, which she said fall outside their core duties.
Teachers argue that improving preschool education requires better working conditions, warning that responsibilities unrelated to teaching leave them with less time to focus on pupils.
They are calling on Education Minister Mohamed Nabil Benabdellah and Delegate Minister Kamal Hachoumi to open a dialogue and address their demands.
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