Amazigh and civil organizations for Benmoussa: “Depriving the members of the community of Amazigh is a deliberate step that reflects racial discrimination.”
In a letter addressed to the Minister of National Education, Preliminary Education and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa, a number of Amazigh and civil associations in Morocco and Europe questioned the reasons for excluding the teaching of the Amazigh official language to the children of Moroccan citizens and citizens residing abroad.
The letter of the Amazigh and civil organizations stated that the guardianship ministry sent a “memorandum to the regional academies regarding the selection contest for primary education teachers who will teach the Arabic language and Moroccan culture to the members of the Moroccan community residing in Europe, in which it specified the number of contested positions in 218 positions, of which 139 will be appointed in France, 60 in Spain 16 in Belgium and 3 in Germany.
She also indicated that "another memorandum was circulated in order to provide 26 teachers to teach Arabic for foreign educational missions, at a rate of 17 for French missions, 6 for Spanish, and 3 for Belgian."
We draw your attention, the text of the letter adds, that “what you have taken is a deliberate step that indicates racial discrimination that contradicts the spirit of the Constitution of July 1st 2011 and the content of Article 5 thereof, and the objectives of Organic Law No. 16-26 related to defining the stages of activating the official character of Amazigh and the modalities of its incorporation into the field of Education and in the priority areas of public life.
This is also in “a flagrant violation of Articles 7 and 8 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the recommendations that have been issued by UNESCO (1) and the World Bank (2) regarding the importance of the mother tongue in children’s education.”
The same source added, "We were expecting you, and your ministry, to set an example regarding the priority and urgency of activating the official character of the Amazigh language in the field of national education, by generalizing the teaching of the official Amazigh language, such as Arabic, starting from the pre-school stage and generalizing it to all primary levels. and secondary school, not only in respect of the constitutional document but above all as one of the most effective means of combating school wastage.”
Here is the text of the message:
His Excellency Mr. Chakib Benmoussa
, Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sports,
Kingdom of Morocco Subject: What are the reasons for excluding the teaching of the Amazigh official language to the children of Moroccan citizens and citizens residing abroad? Mr. Minister,
You have sent a memorandum to the regional academies of your ministry regarding the selection contest for primary education teachers who will teach Arabic language and Moroccan culture to the Moroccan community residing in Europe, in which you specified the number of contested positions in 218 positions, of which 139 will be appointed in France, 60 in Spain, 16 in Belgium and 3 in Germany.
You also circulated another memorandum in order to provide 26 teachers to teach Arabic for foreign educational missions, at a rate of 17 for French missions, 6 for Spanish and 3 for Belgian.
We draw your attention to the fact that what you have taken is a deliberate step of racial discrimination that contradicts the spirit of the Constitution of 1 July 2011 and the content of Article 5 of it, and the objectives of Organic Law No. 16-26 related to determining the stages of activating the official character of Amazighness and the modalities of its inclusion in the field of education and in the relevant fields of public life. priority. Without forgetting that this is in flagrant violation of Articles 7 and 8 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the recommendations that have been issued by UNESCO (1) and the World Bank (2) regarding the importance of the mother tongue in children's education.
We were expecting you, and your ministry, to set an example regarding the priority and urgency of activating the official character of the Amazigh language in the field of national education, by generalizing the teaching of the official Amazigh language, such as Arabic, starting from the pre-school stage and generalizing it to all primary and secondary levels, not only Out of respect for the constitutional document, but above all as one of the most effective means of combating school wastage, as you have already mentioned, which, due to its spread, has become alarming, with about 300,000 children leaving school every year!
And now, after you assumed the presidency of the Conference of Education Ministers of French-speaking Countries and Governments (CONFEMEN), since its 59th session, which took place last February in Rabat, under the slogan “Mother tongue and language of instruction: any strategies to facilitate initial learning, academic success and coexistence in the twenty-first century”, Let us remind you, Mr. Minister, of what was closely confirmed by the French linguist Alain Bentollella, in November 2019: “The education systems in some countries, however costly they are, have become machines for breeding illiteracy and school failure because they are absolutely ignorant (or do not want) to solve the problem that haunts them related to Choosing in the language of instruction. They lead the students to severe failures because the school received them in a language that their mothers did not teach them, and for the child this is intolerable violence, while by adopting their mother tongue we will give them access to reading and writing and we can then build an ambitious education in official languages on solid foundations.”
You have expressed yourself, via Twitter, the resounding success of the exceptional Moroccan experience of the communal schools “Merdersat.Com” affiliated with the BMCE BANK OF AFRICA, which you had the honor to visit in Bouskoura (Casablanca) and in Beni Ansar (Nador) because they adopt the mother tongue, such as the Berber language. , in the school curriculum. Therefore, we ask you, Mr. Minister, to tell us what prevents you from adopting this experience and generalizing it to public schools and for the benefit of the children of Moroccan citizens living abroad?
Let us remind you that the United Nations Human Rights Committee recognized that the Kingdom of Morocco practices a policy of de facto discrimination against the Berbers in the field of employment and education, according to the Committee of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in October 2015 (3), which recommended that the Moroccan state “take urgent measures to address the problems of The quality of public education, school wastage, and school failure.
The committee recommended that the Moroccan state “develop an appropriate education system and program with a focus on pre-school education, mother-tongue education or literacy, vocational training, and support for children who have left school. And redouble its efforts to provide primary, secondary and university education in the Amazigh language.”
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Ms. E. Tendayi Achoumi, who visited the Kingdom of Morocco in December 2018, noted that discrimination against the Berbers continues because of their language and culture. As a result, she also renewed this outstanding recommendation calling on the Kingdom of Morocco to “intensify its efforts to ensure that the Berbers are not subjected to racial discrimination in the exercise of their basic rights, particularly with regard to education... . . (4)
We are well aware that previous governments, led by the Islamists of the Justice and Development Party, deliberately ignored these recommendations of the United Nations, but why do you continue to follow the same approach even though your head of government, Amghar Aziz Akhannouch, has been reminding that “the realization of this societal project lies in integrating the Amazigh into the All aspects of public life and the mobilization of human, logistical and financial resources to ensure the implementation of the requirements of the regulatory law related to activating the official character of the Amazigh language.”
Why do you exclude teaching the official Amazigh language to the children of Moroccans residing abroad?
Moreover, as Morocco will host the Seventh International Conference on Adult Learning CONFINTEA VII under the theme “Adult Learning and Education for Sustainable Development: A Transformative Agenda”, organized with UNESCO from 15 to 17 June 2022 in Marrakesh, we feel strongly that literacy Adults in their mother tongue, as recommended by Paulo Freire, will be absent and ignored in the works of this conference. It is a very golden opportunity that you will miss if you exclude from your discussions the importance of indigenous and mother languages, although the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Audrey Azoulay, has emphasized that “adult education is the key to changing our future.
Mr. Minister,
If you wish that your government program in the field of children’s education, which is the basis of every human development policy, at home and abroad, is not doomed to failure in advance, and if you wish to reap positive and important fruits and results, then all you have to do is immediately begin to integrate the Amazigh language In all national education programmes, generalizing them from pre-school to university, integrating them into educational programs for Moroccans living abroad, and introducing literacy education for adults. You will inevitably succeed if you take seriously the strategic recommendations of the “International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032”, launched by UNESCO and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Mr. Minister,
In the hope that our demands will be taken seriously and that we will adopt a proactive policy against this racial discrimination against the official Amazigh language, please accept our highest expressions of appreciation and respect.
Notes :
(1)- https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380593
(2)- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/778161626203742899/pdf/Effective-Language-of-Instruction-Policies-for-Learning.pdf
(3)- https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E/C.12/MAR/CO/4&Lang=Fr
(4)- https://amadalamazigh.press.ma/fr/lonu-demande-au-maroc-dintensification-les-efforts-pour-que-les-amazighs-ne-soient-pas-victimes-de-discrimination- racial/
First signatory NGOs and associations:
1- Amazigh World Assembly (AMA), Brussels (Belgium)
2- Association TIFAWIN, Brussels (Belgium)
3- Association TAMAZIGHT, Liège (Belgium)
4- Association TIWIZI59, Lille (France)
5- Association AMEZRUY, Lille (France)
6- ADRAR Association, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
7- Union of Amazigh Associations in Germany (Germany)
8- DAVID MONTGOMERY HART Mediterranean Foundation for Amazigh Studies, Melilla (Spain)
9- TAMETTUT Association of Amazigh women for culture and development, Barcelona (Spain)
10- IMAZIGHEN Cultural Association, Melilla (Spain)
11- Amazigh American Association (USA)
12- Association of Teachers of the Amazigh language of the Casablanca-Settat region, Casablanca (Morocco)
13- AJDIR Association for learning the Amazigh language and transmitting its culture and heritage, Kenitra (Morocco)
14- "TAMEGHRABIT" Collective of Citizen Convergences (TADA TAMEGHRABIT), Rabat (Morocco)
15- Confederation of Rif Senhaja Associations for Development, Targuiste (Morocco)
16- TOUBKAL Forum for Amazigh Culture and Human Rights, Marrakech (Morocco)
17- Network of Development Associations of the province of Al-Hoceima, Al-Hoceima (Morocco).
18- AMOUD Association for Culture and the Environment, Casablanca (Morocco)
19- TAMASNA Association, Casablanca (Morocco)
20- ACHABAR Association of Imouzzar Kandar (Morocco)
21- SEGANGAN Youth Association for Culture and Development, Nador (Morocco)
22- ADGHAL Rif Association for rural development, Alhoceima (Morocco)
https://amadalamazigh.press.ma/%d8%aa%d9%86%d8%b8%d9%8a%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a3%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b2%d9%8a%d8%ba%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%88%d9%85%d8%af%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d9%85%d9%88%d8%b3%d9%89-%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%85%d8%a7/