User:I.khejjou

ismail 18:22, 10 March 2008 (UTC)Ismail khejjou        The Moroccan University and the New Reform

In the present paper, I aim at exploring the theme of the university taking the new reform as my primary concern. In addition, as a university student I will hopefully attempt to broaden the discussion by including my honest experience, understanding and evaluation of the objectives of the on-going university reform at significant levels. It seems to me that in approaching the theme of the university, as I am expected to do here, one may want to devout a couple of lines to determine what is clearly meant by this concept. Therefore, I would like to seriously come to an understanding of the term university which, to a certain extent, still unclear to so many students. At the time being, especially under the present state of our university, a series of questions have been heavily addressed at what today’s university has come to mean to both professors and students. That is to say, does the Moroccan university still consider its essential mission? To what extent does the new reform contribute to achieving the purpose of the university? Consequently, these questions and many others have been extremely debated in different conferences held by Moroccan and non-Moroccan professors in which they deal with the issue of the university. So having made of the term university a starting point of the discussion, I should then refer to a clear view of the term at hand. According to Engling the university is viewed as a “place of education at the highest level” (249). Indeed, it is an interesting experience of learning, interacting in and with the space of the university. In fact, it is at this point where the mission of the university education takes place-That is to say, produces a number of educated students who have knowledge and ready to serve society. To let my own experience speak, coming to the university has been a major turning point for me in the sense that I have to live on my own and take serious control of my own life. More seriously still, I consider that university life is a great opportunity because it teaches me to be responsible and make my own choices. With respect to this positive attitude toward the university, I have no doubt that the present university reform raises some critical questions at different high levels and considering them, one can write a whole paper. In this is part, I would like to shed light on two questions to which I can provide an answer and part of the response springs from my understanding and interpretation of this new reform. The first question I want to ask is, to what extent do the university changes; I mean the new reform, support the role and goals of the university? As I mentioned before, the university plays a distinctive role which is mainly the production of knowledge and enhancing the learning experience. However, with the new reform the role of the university is claimed to be declining at the level of the student’s ability to discover and develop a number of skills which will be of great help to him/her in later studies and in the real life as well. On one hand, the strategy adopted in this reform is meant to put the student in close contact with the instructor and strengthens the relationship between them. In addition, the student is continually evaluated through his compulsory attendance and performance in class. The teacher’s essential role in this respect is to help the student collect data, think critically and profit as much as possible from his/her learning experience. The relationship between teacher and learner is determined thereby. The learner is seen as the person who does not yet have the required knowledge or values and the teacher as the person who has both and whose function it is to convey them to the learner. It is indeed true to see at this point that the ultimate aim of the new university reform, in spit of its negative aspect, is to train the student to be productive in order to ensure a better integration, and interaction with his/her social environment. This might not probably be clear to all students, especially those who studied in the old system, and therefore they may criticise this new reform without thinking how they can best cope with it. In spite of what I have said concerning the positive side of the university changes, it goes without saying that there are certain features that the new reform has unfortunately failed to achieve or, in other words, has not been aware of. One of these is the role the university student is expected to play which helps, partly, to accomplish the goal(s) of the university which is mainly the production of quality. At the time where students should look at themselves as learners and seekers of knowledge, we find that most of them, if not all, resort to cheating and other illegal means to pass their exams. Very seriously, the hope that we have for a better independent university; a university whose students are the pillars of tomorrow’s society seems to be impossible in the present generation unless we question the way the whole system is structured. What I would like to say here is that we as students, as well as the coming ones, must know that the right to study should be considered not only a right, but also a duty and serious responsibility. If the community of students requires that a natural chance of training and education be granted, it is also legitimate to expect such community to keep up with the level and prestige that the university offers. In this part, I would like to shed light on another interesting aspect concerning the new reform. It is mainly the programs being thought at the university and the need of our society. Today, professors and people in this domain give considerable attention to this issue and a number of lectures have been given trying to discuss this idea during the last few years. In the Moroccan context, I believe that the present educational system is obsolete and out of touch with the needs of society. Actually, what teachers teach does not prepare students for job market and this is one thing teachers and decision-makers are being criticised for these days. In the same way, Professor ENNAJI admits that the reform “does not any more satisfy the needs of a country that seeks to become modern, competitive and creative” (337). In my personal view, a simple solution for this crisis lays within us all as teachers and students and most importantly, as members of society. What I think should be done is to broaden our whole concept of education. Professor LEBBADY says that “if the emphasis were more on learning, on being constructive, and growing as human beings, then perhaps that education would enable those graduates to create jobs, both for themselves and others” (275). Another important thing is that decision-makers and teachers should aim for quality teaching and research and respond to the needs of the Moroccan society. In addition to what I have said so far, I am aware that many changes and improvements have been implemented at different levels and some of them are to be applauded. An example of this is teaching methodology and the way exams are given. Equally important, I think that the new system is flexible in the sense that the kind of assessment given aims at evaluating the student’s performance in a course, provide feedback on how he/she can better improve in addition that it gives teachers the opportunity to make decisions about course content. What remains to be emphasized is that any reform in any institution should guarantee a better future and progress for that institution. This, of course, should lead me to say that the future of our present university depends on this reform. To attain this goal, let me touch upon two basic tasks but, they remain nonetheless central for determining the objectives of any university. The first task is Objectives. A university should, if not must, find out and take into considerable account its objectives and the students’ as well. Great attention should be given to the training and the activities the university plans to undertake as well as the main reason for which the student comes to the university. These objectives and others that I may not mention will help specify the characteristics of the university we hope to have in our country. The second task is training. By training, I mean that the university should concentrate on training students to develop a number of skills and in how to learn at the level of the university. That’s to say, students have be trained to be independent and capable of carrying on their own learning process while at the same time instilling in them the idea of creativity. In order to this, they should be given tools to uncover information that is necessary for whatever task they want to undertake. In my conclusion, I would like to say that my approach to this interesting subject “The University” is faithfully based on a learning experience of four years at the university. I have tried in this honest paper to shed light on several perspectives concerning the university in general and the new reform in particular taking into account the student as an important and central component of my discussion. It is my conviction that our university can progress as long as it puts the student as its goal and main interest.

By Ismail khejjou

Works cited Belghazi, Taieb. The Idea of The University. Rabat: Faculty of Letters of Rabat, 1997.