A recent study conducted by the National Observatory for Discrimination and Equality in Higher Education in France revealed significant discrimination against students of North African origin, including Moroccans.
The study concluded that North African candidates who submit their master’s degree applications at the university have a 12% lower chance of getting a favorable answer, or any form of response from administrations.
When reaching out to academic personnel for advice or information, candidates of North African descent with Arabic-sounding names are disproportionately discriminated against by one in five professors.
The study was based on the names of three fictitious candidates, Mohamed Massoudi, Lucas Martin, and Thomas Legrand, three supposed bachelor’s students reaching out for master’s heads of departments from 19 French universities.
Findings confirmed that 17% of master’s supervisors, roughly one in five, did not follow up or provide an unfavorable response to an email sent by Mohamed Massoudi, while they were responsive to Thomas Legrand’s requests.
Lucas Martin, who was assigned to be of reduced mobility, was found to have a similar response rate.
A French student had a positive response rate of 69.7%, two points higher than that of a candidate with a disability of French origin, while the candidate from North Africa registered a 61.1% responsiveness rate.
According to the study, discrimination is greater in legal sciences, where it response rates registered a mere 33.3%, in contrast with a 21.1% rate for sciences, technology, and health, compared to 7.3% in literature, languages, arts, humanities, and social sciences.
The report concludes that “while public discussion and research on discrimination focuses primarily on the area of access to work, the observation is that discrimination prevails long before professional integration, starting at gatekeeping access to training.”
Despite the alarming rates, Moroccan students have been consistently “excelling in French schools and universities,” mainly in scientific fields.
Despite the increase in tuition fees and the drastic reduction in the number of visas granted, Moroccan students are still overwhelmingly pursuing their studies in France.
Back in 2019, over 25,818 Moroccan students applied to study in France, noting an 84% increase in the last five years.
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