Statement on the ministerial memorandum regarding the gradual generalization of the teaching of the Amazigh language
The Tamghrabit bloc of Citizen Gatherings, known simply as Tada Tamghribat, had previously placed on the desk of the Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sports a memorandum regarding a number of problems and structural obstacles that impede the integration of Amazigh into the educational system, among which in particular is the absence of a sectoral action plan for the Ministry of National Education and Primary Education and sports, respecting the provisions of Organic Law 26.16 related to defining the stages of activating the official character of Amazigh and the modalities of its integration in the field of education and in the priority areas of public life,
Two months later, the Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sports issued Ministerial Memorandum 23/28 of May 23, 2023 regarding the gradual generalization of the teaching of the Amazigh language in the primary school, in an exceptional national context marked by optimism about the future of the Amazigh demarcation workshops after the historic decision of His Majesty the King regarding the opening of the Amazigh year, which He brought back to the fore the strategic nature of the file after the Royal Court’s communiqué referred to “the generous care that His Majesty, may God protect him, has been giving to the Berber language as a major component of the authentic Moroccan identity, rich in its many tributaries, and a common asset for all Moroccans without exception.”
In accordance with the approach of objectivity in its handling of the Amazigh file, the office of “Tada Tamgrabit” studied the contents of the memorandum of the Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sports, and concluded with a number of observations, which we summarize as follows:
Positive notes
The memorandum is an implicit acknowledgment by the ministry of the disastrous outcome of the Amazigh integration process over the last twenty years, an outcome that does not honor our country and is not consistent with the generous care that His Majesty the King gives to the Amazigh language as a common asset among Moroccans without exception. And this acknowledgment would be a step in the right direction if it turns into my review track to correct what needs to be corrected.
Adopting a digital flatbed for teaching Amazigh is a positive decision, but it (flat) should not be a justification for disrupting face-to-face teaching in the classroom.
Adopting Tamazight in accompanying and training through practice is also a positive decision, and its proper implementation requires the formulation of action programs that precisely define the processes and activities of this support to enhance the capacities of female and male professors in the field of teaching Tamazight;
Major concerns
A stark contrast between the content of the memorandum and the contents of the references it relied on. For example, but not limited to, the memorandum did not respect the requirements of Articles 4 and 31 of Organic Law No. 16-26, nor did it comply with the contents of the integrated government plan to activate the official character of the Amazigh language.
The absence of an objective diagnosis for twenty years of the series of including Amazigh in the educational system, supported by the credibility of figures, puts the Ministry’s expectations regarding the generalization of Amazigh in the horizon of the year 2030 in the range of all doubts, bearing in mind that what is circulated as data indicates that the outcome of the Amazigh generalization to date does not exceed 9% .
The memorandum was silent about the generalization of Tamazight, taking into account the diversity of educational maps to achieve settlement and convergence, taking into account the multiplicity of generalization formulas: subject teacher (specialist), department professor (primary education teacher, teacher of Tamazight).
The gradual integration of Amazigh into the educational system, although it is required systematically if the political will is available, has unfortunately turned into a gentle and systematic evasion of all commitment.
The memorandum ignored the issue of updating administrative data regarding the number of male and female teachers of the Amazigh language.
Not referring to private education, which is still far from including Amazigh in the classroom, according to the organized notes, and keeping silent about teaching Amazigh to the children of the Moroccan community residing abroad.
The blurring of the issue of human resources, and the absence of a predictable definition of human resources, taking into account the goals set by the memorandum on the horizon of the year 2030.
These are the observations of the Tamghribat Bloc for Citizen Gatherings addressed to public opinion in general, the government, political parties, and the components of the Amazigh movement in particular. Perhaps they (the observations) contribute to reforming what can be reformed in order to put the train of demarcation of the Amazigh language and its integration into the educational system on its right track, in full respect for the constitution and the requirements of Organizational Law No. 16-26.
Here, it must be recalled that the outcome of the series of including Tamazight in the educational system is a great title for the semi-freezing of the legal status of Tamazight, as an official language, and it is also a title for successive governments' disregard of the disastrous fate that awaits Tamazight as one of the threatened languages.
Tammaghribite conglomerate for citizenship gatherings