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  Samira Jadour

  Morocco Correspondent

Moroccan medical students are taking part in an unprecedented strike that has been going on for seven months. Students across the country are taking to the streets this week in what activists are calling the “Weeks of Rage.”

They do not agree with the reform of their education that came into effect last academic year. The duration of medical studies was reduced from 7 to 6 years.

The Moroccan government is trying to get more medical graduates, faster. The country’s Court of Auditors released figures late last year showing a shortage of 47,000 doctors. Students say the reform is coming at the expense of the quality of their education.

“Seven, seven, seven” students chant outside the parliament building. All wearing black T-shirts to express their anger. Previously, the seventh year was mainly aimed at gaining practical experience. Now there are fears that graduates will be thrown straight into the deep end after six years of study.

The demonstrations are attracting thousands of students from all over the country. According to student organizations, up to 94 percent of medical students in Morocco are participating in the strike.

“We are not asking for higher salaries or expensive courses abroad, we just want to raise our level of education,” says Hakim, 22, from Fez and a member of the student organization.

He hopes a solution will be found in the coming weeks. “The longer this goes on, the more Moroccan society will suffer if we start our careers as doctors unprepared.”

Negotiations between the Ministries of Health and Higher Education and students have been difficult from the start. For example, medical schools are threatening to allow striking students to finish the academic year with zero marks in their exams. This means that most of these students will no longer have the opportunity to continue their studies.

Although the reform was intended to allow as many doctors as possible to enter in a short period of time, the strike and reprisals threaten to increase the shortage of doctors in Morocco.

Not only is there misunderstanding about the government’s firm stance, many Moroccans also see the heavy-handed police actions during a previous demonstration in July as excessive. Water cannons were used to disperse the demonstration in Rabat. Many Moroccan internet users also pointed out that it was strange that this particular tool was used, given the country’s six-year drought.

A delegation of the students’ parents and grandparents is also taking part in the demonstration. They have come to Rabat from all over the country to support their children and grandchildren. But also to provide them with protection. The idea is that their presence should ensure that the police take less harsh measures this time.

Hada’s 71-year-old grandson from Marrakech was unable to attend today. He is ill at home in bed. “I am here on behalf of my grandson, but I see all the students here as my grandchildren,” she says.

The mother, Fatima, 48, is also from Marrakesh and travelled to the capital with her baby. She believes it is important to contrast the fact that the students are striking mainly because they fear they will no longer be able to travel abroad with their diplomas. “That is not true,” she explains. “They just want to get a quality education.”

Although the majority of protesters indicate their desire to work as doctors in Morocco, the large number of graduates who travel abroad actually represents a serious problem for Moroccan health care.

According to the Moroccan doctors’ organization FEML, an estimated 600 to 700 doctors leave abroad every year. Since this year, Germany has concluded an agreement with Morocco, among other things, to recruit health care personnel in the African country. The first batch has already left.

It should become clear next week whether the government and the striking students can reach a compromise. Mother Fatima believes this situation has gone on long enough. “This is a waste of the talent of people who want to study and dedicate their lives to serving Morocco. Now a whole year is at risk for the students and nothing has changed.”