Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, showed up in his office in an official photo, and a banner bearing the name of the Kingdom in English “kingdom of Morocco,” in a first of its kind, after it had been written in French since the country’s independence, which sparked a sensation among social media activists, and multiple readings of the new change appeared with it.

This image, which has been widely shared by Moroccans, particularly on Facebook, is part of a larger campaign by activists to change the major state’s orientations in important sectors such as education, the economy, and other fields, as well as to cut ties with the Francophone world, which has become limited, “as they put it.”
This “official” measure by Morocco was seen as an indirect response to French decisions to decrease the number of visas issued to Moroccans intending to visit France, as well as the country’s main tendency to open up to the Anglo-Saxon world and strengthen ties with the United States. The United States and the United Kingdom.
Many Moroccan observers, on the other hand, believe that the country’s major changes and foreign policies have recently begun to shift, particularly following “Washington’s” official recognition of the Moroccan Sahara and normalization with Israel, as well as the extension of major economic partnerships with Britain. The world’s largest power tube.
In a related manner, a number of African countries have recently undergone significant changes in their foreign policies and relations with the “former colonialist” France, breaking with “Francophonie” on all levels, the most recent of which was Gabon’s withdrawal from the Francophone Organization and accession to the English-speaking Commonwealty.
Ali Bongo, the President of Gabon and the son of Omar Bongo, who served as President from 1967 to 2009, expressed tremendous interest in following Rwanda’s lead, believing that Rwanda’s economic development was due to its independence from French dominance and adoption of Anglophone system.

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The Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research has announced that the new radio program “English Time” would begin broadcasting on Monday 4 October, 2021.

The radio show will air on national radio once a week, from Monday to Thursday, according to the following schedule:

Monday and Wednesday at half past six o’clock in the evening, a new episode of the show will be broadcast;

Tuesday and Thursday at half past six o’clock in the evening, the episodes of this program will be re-broadcast.

This radio program, aimed for primary and preparatory students, is made up of 43 episodes of 15 minutes that aim to support kids and their families by allowing them to practice and apply the English language while focusing on basic language skills.

The “English Time” program was created in accordance with the conditions of a collaboration agreement signed on July 26, 2021, in the presence of Minister of National Education Said Amzazi, between the National Radio and Television Company and the British Council in Morocco.

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David Fischer, US ambassador to Morocco, affirmed in his last press conference today in Rabat, that “Moroccans often ask for more English instruction in schools, because they understand the importance of English in today’s world.”

Fischer reiterated his will and support for encouraging English instruction in Moroccan public schools through providing Morocco’s youth with an invaluable asset for their future in the modern economy.

He further added that in close partnership with the Ministry of Education, USAID was able to obtain record amount of funding for English instruction in public schools in Morocco.

Fischer further added that the Embassy has also provided online professional development courses to cover 550 public sector English language educators across Morocco through the U.S. government’s Virtual English Language Fellow Program.

Fischer grabbed the chance to explain how “Reading for Success” program has significantly improved reading skills for Moroccan primary school students; thus, reaching over 4 million students during this past year in partnership with the Ministry of Education.

On the other hand, Fischer explained the US support for vocational training. A case in point is the partnerships and funding with the Moroccan government to enhance the production of traditional Moroccan silver jewelry. Courses will be offered in partnership with the Ministry of Education throughout the public school system.

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Morocco ranked 74th in the world in the list of the English Language Proficiency Index, issued by the EF Foundation, which described the level of English aptitude in the Kingdom as low.

According to the index, the English proficiency level is up by 58.25% for females, whereas the same index indicates only 55.63% when it comes to males.

Morocco also ranks low amongst African countries, as it ranked 6th in the continent, coming below South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, then Tunisia and Ethiopia, at an average rate of 453 points.

Regarding Africa, the report stated as follows: “The European colonial powers have always maintained close connections with Africa, especially France, but the country that is currently leading the newest wave of foreign investment in the continent is China,” adding: “Today, Africa is teeming with huge infrastructure projects; over 320 new consulates and embassies were opened in the same continent between 2010 and 2016. However, its history remains affected by violence and persecution to this day, and better mastery of the English language will help foreign investors and African partners to reach more transparent contracts and a smoother collaboration.”

“The colonial history in Africa has linked the languages of the colonizers ​​to high social levels in the minds of many Africans, resulting in local schools giving priority to teaching English or French rather than teaching local languages more often.” The report stated further.

And it was stressed that: “The time has come to stop this practice, as a significant number of researches shows that children who are not taught to read and write in their mother tongue suffer permanent consequences; in spite of this, almost all countries in Africa still use colonial languages ​​as a language of instruction, with the exception of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tanzania.”

And according to a recent study that included 12 schools in Cameron which switched from educating in English to doing so in the country’s mother tongue, the students of the aforementioned schools showed better performance and results in all subjects after five years, including English.  Moreover, Kenya began offering Swahili lessons in primary schools this year, although much of education there remains in English.

As for the countries ranking highest in the FLP index, Netherlands topped the list with a total of 652 points, followed by Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Austria, then Portugal and Germany, followed by Belgium and Singapore.

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