Regional Office of National Higher Education Union Raises Concerns Over University Management in Meknes-Errachidia

Meknes, July 17, 2024 – The Regional Office of the National Higher Education Union (SNESUP) for the Meknes-Errachidia branch held an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, to discuss pressing issues affecting higher education institutions in the region.

Key points from the meeting include:

1. The union strongly condemned an incident at the Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sik in Casablanca, where an acting dean reportedly refused to honor a top student for wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh.
2. Serious concerns were raised about mismanagement in pedagogical, administrative, and financial aspects across most institutions in the region.
3. The union criticized the university presidency’s interference in exam scheduling at the Faculty of Sciences and Faculty of Arts, bypassing elected councils.
4. Infrastructure deficiencies at the Multidisciplinary Faculty in Errachidia and issues with course offerings at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology were highlighted.
5. Similar concerns were expressed about the Higher School of Technology, National School of Arts and Crafts, and the National School of Commerce and Management.
6. The Regional Center for Education and Training Professions in Meknes was noted to be experiencing setbacks in previous agreements.
7. The union warned against the overemphasis on creating “excellence tracks” at the expense of open-access core programs.

The Regional Office cautioned the presidency of Moulay Ismail University against these practices, which they view as undermining elected councils’ authority and mismanaging administrative and financial resources. They reserved the right to take legal and legitimate protest actions in the upcoming academic year if these issues are not addressed.

The statement concluded with a call for all professors in the region’s higher education institutions to mobilize in support of their union, defending public universities and the interests of teaching and research staff.

This situation reflects ongoing tensions between university administration and faculty unions, centered on issues of governance, resource allocation, and academic freedom in Morocco’s higher education system.