Recent study sheds light on how 'sex for grades' scandals affected Moroccan universities

Research conducted by the House of Representatives shed light on the internal issues Moroccan colleges are facing, such as fraud, sexual harassment, financial extortion, and the discrepancy in personal values, and offered some solutions.

The study titled “Values and Their Institutional Activation: Changes and Expectations among Moroccans” addressed ethical concerns in Moroccan universities, highlighting the need for university officials to enforce legal sanctions against a number of damaging practices like cheating and the persistent sexual harassment of female students.

The study concluded that “the university should address this issue through intervening to protect and provide justice for the victims, and by creating listening cells that encourage female students to report on their suffering instead of staying silent in case they are exposed to blackmail or sexual harassment out of fear of revenge.”

Financial coercion to acquire unjustified grades or to enroll in master’s and doctoral programs is one of the issues mentioned.

The study covered the challenge of value disparity among people, fields, and majors. Because their references in this regard are somewhat different, university personnel are performing their tasks while sensing a value gap separating them, as noted in the results of the study.

The study explicitly cited the example of foreign language instructors, students, and their Arabic literary counterparts, particularly those involved in Islamic studies and Islamic law.

The study sample consisted of 1600 respondents from all over Morocco, split among urban and rural groups based on population size (large, medium, and small). It was conducted over the course of 10 months.

Also mentioned was the difficulty in maintaining and promoting the university’s reputation.

According to the field study, Moroccan universities are occasionally subjected to media attacks, and news is published and spread that insults the symbolic status of the university facility which diminishes its value to the public by “purposefully creating a false impression of the university and some of its constituent parts” and repeatedly promoting them. 

The study suggested that “this necessitates the establishment of central and local administrative entities to preserve the reputation and interests of the institution, and to publicize scientific and educational efforts and results.”