Coronavirus triggers student exodus to public schools in Morocco

Many Moroccan middle class families are rushing to enroll their children in public schools as the coronavirus pandemic hit their pockets, forcing them to distance learning.

In Agadir alone, a medium sized Moroccan City, over 2000 students left private schools this year for public schools.

Among the other factors explaining this trend is the low quality of private school curriculum as well as the greed of some of them.

As the health crisis affected economic activity, many already indebted middle class families are worried about the future of their children and see in public schools a chance to save money and ensure distance learning for their children.

The crisis has added an additional burden on households of middle classes who have to follow up more than ever the progress of their children and their commitment to learning at home. Not to speak of lower classes where the means of distance learning, especially in the countryside, are almost absent.

Conflicts have also surfaced last year as many private schools refused to make discounts for parents of children. Since March, schools across Morocco have been closed and this year fall opening is shrouded in doubt as most schools are set to adopt distance learning.

The virus has uncovered many dysfunctions in the vital health and education sectors and left families worried about the future of their offsprings.

Most of all, the pandemic reactivated the debate over the importance of an efficient public education and public health systems that would ease the burden on middle class families.