Parents of Moroccan students who had studied in Ukraine rallied this morning in front of Morocco’s Higher Education Ministry in Rabat to protest the “silence” of Moroccan authorities towards the ambiguity of their children’s academic future.
The parents are demanding answers as to why Moroccan authorities cannot find a solution to integrate the students coming from Ukraine in Moroccan universities.
“We are going to send a letter to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him; we believe he is the only one who can find a solution to our problem”, Said Abdellah, a parent of a Moroccan student.
Abdellah expressed his dissatisfaction with the ministry’s silence, and told Hespress English that “both parents and students are helpless and tired, and want the problem to be solved as soon as possible (…) especially because final exams are coming soon.”
Leila, a parent of a Moroccan medical student in Ukraine, noted that “the integration of Moroccans students coming from Ukraine should be a priority for the Moroccan government.”
“Not only Moroccan medical students who were studying at medical schools in Ukraine should be integrated, but all disciplines and specialties,” she added.
Abdellatif Miraoui, the Moroccan Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said that the country would assist students to complete their studies. The ministry has additionally launched an online platform, dedicated to Moroccan students coming from Ukraine, in order to identify their specialties.
Morocco’s Higher Education Ministry has previously promised Moroccan students coming from Ukraine integration into the country’s medicine faculties. However, the National Commission of Medical Students in Morocco criticized the decision, saying that the integration “will negatively affect the students”.
In a press release issued on February, the commission argued Moroccan medicine faculties are short-staffed, and are already suffering from “a severe lack of materials; thus, integrating hundreds of students will make the situation even worse.”
“We would like to point out that the quality of theoretical and practical medical training represented in training centres that witness unparalleled overcrowding are red lines that should not be violated under any pretext or conditions,” the press release highlighted.
Data suggest Moroccan students are the second-largest foreign community in Ukraine, numbering around 8000 students. Most of them in Ukraine used to study medicine, pharmacy, or dentistry fields.
On February 12, the Moroccan government asked more than 10.000 Moroccans in Ukraine to leave the country, as tensions began to grow between both Russia and Ukraine. Thus, nearly 10,000 Moroccans have left since February 14.
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