The tug-of-war between students of general medicine and pharmacy and the government continues. While the Minister of Higher Education, Abdellatif Miraoui, is the target of much criticism and is accused of being behind the persistence of this crisis, journalists present at the government spokesman’s press briefing at the end of the Government Council on Thursday highlighted one of his recent statements.
In response to questions from councillors during the weekly session of oral questions to the House of Councillors, held this week concerning the medical student crisis, the Minister declared that “it is still possible to save the academic year, as there are exams next week”, expressing his wish that the National Coordination of Moroccan Medical Students (CNEM) “let the students take part.”
“When I say let them, it’s because the coordination (CNEM) doesn’t let them, it tells them not to go,” he added. On Thursday, Mustapha Baitas was asked about this statement and the fact that the government had “called the medical students traitors”.
Baitas pointed out that “we have to be careful about expressions used in this sense.”
“The government has never called medical students traitors and never will. When was that said? (…) The government will never call anyone a traitor. I don’t know where you got that from. Is there a clear statement to that effect? You have to be careful with that kind of talk,” retorted the Minister.
Having cleared up this point, the spokesman for the Executive then insisted that “the government is interacting with the subject of medical students with the utmost good faith and has taken into account all the points raised within the framework of the dialogue.”
“I myself have presented here the various answers to the various questions concerning fears linked to training, scholarships, and internships…. I don’t think there can be a stronger will than this to resolve this issue”, he asserted.
Baitas recalled that a commission had been set up in parliament, in the presence of the ministers responsible, Abdellatif Miraoui and Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister of Health. They have presented the various issues relating to this crisis, and there has even been parliamentary mediation on the subject, the government spokesman added.
“We have to be careful how we discuss this subject. I don’t think the government has failed in its responsibilities, quite the contrary. I invite you to review the press conference I presented, because we deliberately presented the dossier in a technical way to address all the issues raised,” he concluded.
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