Rabat has decided to generalize teaching the language of Shakespeare in college. English is already taught from the third year of public college, but will be extended to the first year with a coverage rate of 10%, and to the second year with a rate of 50% from next year.
By 2024-2025, the ministry is even aiming for 100% coverage in the second year. Students will then be entitled to two hours of English per week for each level of college. Digital resources will also be made available to students and teachers, while a central steering committee will monitor the implementation of the reform.
The measure aims to establish "linguistic pluralism in a progressive and balanced way," the circular adds.
French loses pace
This decision will also compete with the French language, which is taught as the first foreign language from primary school in Morocco. The language had already taken a hit in Algeria in 2022, with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also deciding to introduce English, in this case from primary school.
This turning point can also be explained by the fact that Morocco is a "country without a British colonial past, but which recognizes English as a foreign language," writes Houssine Soussi, professor of language and communication at the National School of Business and Management (ENCG) of Dakhla in a study on "the expansion of English in Morocco."
English is a neutral language, while French can be "rejected by Moroccans because of the protectorate," he emphasizes.
In 2021, a study by the British Council reported that 30% of the Moroccan population spoke English very well. For comparison, it is estimated that French is well spoken by 34% of Moroccans, especially in the intelligentsia, reports Maroc Hebdo.
At the beginning of 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron himself acknowledged that the "Francophonie has been weakening for about fifteen years," in an interview with Le Point.
He admitted that a "rejection of the French language" now exists in Africa, having to do with "a return of the repressed memory of colonization."