The Return to School During COVID-19: A Moroccan Perspective

Hicham Dahmani is an M.
Aug 22, 2020
The Moroccan government, schools, and families should get ready for a different
return to school this academic year, especially as COVID-19 cases are increasing.
Online learning has been evolving at the expense of traditional learning, a fact on
which the Moroccan ministry of education should take action. 

Relying officially on streaming classes on television, as happened in March 2020,

proved ineffective and failed to target all students. So, what are the reasons behind
the failure of online learning in Morocco, and what should policymakers and
educators do to facilitate online learning for all learners? 

Three criteria are necessary for successful online learning

The new strategic vision for educational reform (2015-2030) the Moroccan
Supreme Council for Education, Training, and Scientific Research developed
encompasses incorporating online learning into an educational system, but not
anytime soon (CSEFRS, 2014). One-third of the 15-year period allocated to this
reform has elapsed without online learning set up in schools and universities in a
manner that considers the impacts it has on knowledge construction at the learner’s
appropriate pace.

Recently, online learning, computer-mediated learning, flipped classrooms, and

mobile learning applications have become a new fashion of learning environments,
key elements to success and advancement. They teach labor market-related skills
— such as subject matter skills and information technology skills — using current
teaching approaches and materials for increasing employability and competition
for the best jobs. Traditional learning, however, fails to interest technophile
learners and generally does not meet market skills’ requirements.

Students’ inability to afford education technology tools and materials — a

worldwide issue — also factors into the problem. In Morocco, more than five and a
half million students are unable to afford necessary equipment for learning online,
given that only 600,000 out of 5.66 million benefited from the TelmidTICE
platform, according to education minister Said Amzazi. They could not keep up
with the rest of the class due to socioeconomic reasons when every Moroccan
school resorted to online learning during COVID-19 quarantine.

Consequently, three related issues evolved. One concerns the lack of accessible
digital learning materials, the second is the inability of families to afford
bandwidth connectivity, and the third is linked to inappropriate or inexistent
learning technology tools.

Read also: Morocco’s Experience With COVID-19, Distance Learning, and Fragility

A lack of accessible digital learning materials
The decisions about school that the Moroccan Ministry of Education has been
making during the COVID-19 quarantine far from meet students’ socioeconomic
backgrounds and abilities. They incorporated some learning systems into
MASSAR, “a new online school information management tool that supports the
governance and transparency of schools” (SABER, 2015). MASSAR also “allows
parents to monitor their children’s school life (class schedule, scores, and
attendance) using a personal login and password.” 

This is similar to Microsoft Teams, is a Learning Management System (LMS), but

is void of any prior training on how to use it and fully benefit from the services it
provides. Amzazi stated in a House of Councillors meeting that the Ministry of
Education partnered with University Mohammed VI to launch a phone number for
students, parents, and teachers to call and ask about how to use these online
platforms, namely TelmidTICE and Microsoft Teams. 

That is, neither students nor teachers have received any training on how to utilize
these new technology tools in constructing learning and designing teaching
materials and assessment tools. 

Insufficient engagement in online learning

However, this method does not function offline. What is more, the TelmidTICE
platform does not fit all students’ socioeconomic circumstances. They cannot
afford to buy learning technology tools, such as tablets, PCs, or smartphones, while
policymakers did not plan to provide them. 

Those who already have the equipment could not constantly access bandwidth
connectivity. Less than 10% of Moroccan students enrolled in school, or 600,000
out of 6,260,444, benefited from online platforms during the remote education
program induced by COVID-19, according to Amzazi. This forced teachers to
resort to technology tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp, with which students
are familiar.

Read also: 60% of Moroccan Students Spent Less Time Studying During Lockdown
The learning platforms, though not all teachers and students are tech-savvy about
them, are updated daily, semi-weekly, or weekly with informative, level-related
teaching materials. Teachers started to place voice or video calls, producing
summaries and sometimes creating simulations and videos and sharing with their
students to keep up with the curriculum. 
Taking into account students’ socioeconomic circumstances, the majority could not
cope with learning loads offered by their instructors where, according to Chakroun,
only 1 out of 35 students was engaged in Teams (personal communication [online
meeting], May 28, 2020). Nfissi also points out that most of his students neither
have technology tools, nor do they have access to the internet, and that is why they
were not engaged in online learning (personal communications [online meeting],
May 28, 2020). The rest restricted themselves to the materials provided through
television.

Inappropriate education technology tools for the 21st century

The television approach to school, adopted by the Moroccan Ministry of Education
to cover the rest of the curriculum during the COVID-19 crisis, seems inadequate
in the 21st century, when technology tools and learning materials are available in a
variety of forms. Television and radio cannot make interaction take place, and
communication is central to the syllabus. 

The television and radio approach is not always appropriate for students, especially
considering that rainy and windy weather interrupts television broadcasting and
12% of Moroccan families do not own a television, according to a 2015 study by
the High Commission for Planning (HCP). 

This access gap resulted in unequal learning opportunities. The television approach
may be useful as a supplementary tool for learning. Therefore, there is an emerging
need to develop a framework that keeps up with learning objectives, using 21st-
century technology tools and fitting students’ socioeconomic circumstances.

Read also: Brain Drain: Study Abroad Opportunities Draw Moroccan Students Post-Bac
The need for a Community of Asynchronous Online Learning (CAOL) Framework
I suggest a framework of online education emphasizing asynchronous modes of
learning, provided that students have ownership of tools supplied with learning
materials that “show themselves” (Kraus, 2012). This is formulated in a learning
application, or program, including all levels’ subject matter, from primary to high
school, as well as related materials designed to satisfy the learning gap without
needing an instructor. Materials are presented in various forms to meet students’
different learning styles and strategies.

CAOL is a less demanding online learning framework for both students and
teachers. It suggests that learning takes place through a user-friendly mobile
learning application—or PC program, interchangeably used. This application
provides, for students, a complete description of concepts and components of level-
related materials void of bandwidth connectivity requirements. 
Students can also evaluate their performance to check on their understanding and
reflect on their learning. Finally, it includes many features through which learners
can contact peers, teachers, and education counselors. Interaction with education
counselors requires occasional bandwidth connectivity.

This framework is developed to meet not only students’ needs but also those of
teachers and education counselors. All these components of the school merge
together in this framework to aid learning and help students bridge learning
barriers, which presents a promising opportunity for Moroccan students and
educators as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

On these bases, a Community of Asynchronous Online Learning framework would

be established as an attempt to provide a satisfactory learning environment for all
students, regardless of bandwidth connectivity. It could prove successful provided
that policymakers manage to afford technology tools and educators afford unified
digital learning materials for all levels, from primary to high school.