Morocco’s National Federation of Education, affiliated with the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), has called for massive participation in a demonstration set for Sunday, August 23, outside Parliament in Rabat. In a statement, the union urged its members, education-sector staff more broadly, and anyone concerned with the future of Moroccan schools and universities to join the protest, which aims to block any measure the union says could undermine the principle of free public higher education.
The mobilization stems from the federation’s opposition to a plan attributed to the Ministry of Higher Education to impose fees on civil servants seeking to pursue or resume university studies. The union argues the issue extends beyond payments from one category of students, warning the measure would directly affect civil servants’ ability to develop academically and strengthen their scientific and professional skills.
The federation fears that fees applied to specific categories of students could open a breach in the broader principle of free public university education and, by extension, in the principle of equal opportunity. Its statement voices an “absolute and principled rejection” of what it calls an attempt to introduce a class-based logic into access to knowledge and to gradually turn public education into a commercial service.
The union frames education as a fundamental right that should remain accessible to all regardless of professional status or financial means, arguing that enabling civil servants to resume studies or deepen their qualifications also contributes to strengthening the country’s human resources and should not be conditioned on new financial charges.
By choosing Parliament as the gathering point, the federation is giving the protest a political dimension, aiming to address not only the Higher Education ministry but the government and public authorities more broadly. The demonstration comes as questions over university financing, access and quality remain central to ongoing reform debates ahead of the 2026-2027 academic year.
