The Council of Advisors Adopts the Bill on Scientific Research

The Council of Advisors adopted, by majority, on Tuesday evening, bill No. 59.24 relating to higher education and scientific research.

The text received 23 votes in favor, no votes against, and six abstentions.

On this occasion, the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Azzedine El Midaoui, emphasized that the development of this bill falls within the framework of implementing framework law No. 51.17 relating to the national system of education, training and scientific research.

This framework law, considered a binding contractual document, aims to establish a modern legal framework and to strengthen the effectiveness of university governance mechanisms, he recalled, adding that the bill represents “a major turning point” in the evolution of the legal framework governing higher education and scientific research, sectors essential for developing skills and scientific and technological research, while strengthening the sovereignty of the Kingdom in this area.

He indicated that this text provides universities with the necessary tools to adapt to the rapid transformations in teaching and research methods and means, both nationally and internationally.

Given the central role of the university in the national educational and scientific system, the bill introduces new provisions on its organization, governance and management, while consolidating its territorial anchoring and its capacity to contribute to the Kingdom’s development priorities, he noted.

The bill also creates a strategic body, the Board of Administrators, tasked with supporting the university, facilitating its integration into its economic and social environment, and defending its interests with regional and national institutions, he said.

Mr. El Midaoui stressed that this body in no way infringes on the university’s decision-making autonomy, which remains the exclusive purview of the university’s own Council.

Furthermore, the bill modernizes the composition of the University Council, through the enshrinement of the principle of gender parity and the strengthening of its autonomy, while conferring upon it the responsibilities of managing university affairs and developing its missions in training, research and governance.

The bill also clarifies the legal classification of higher education and research institutions and defines objective creation procedures to ensure harmony and complementarity between the public and private sectors, while consolidating the constitutional principle of territorial equity in the distribution and diversification of training offerings.

Regarding private institutions, the bill specifies the rules of governance, the mechanisms for creation and evaluation as well as control, in order to guarantee their contribution to the development of higher education and research, alongside public institutions, within the framework of the public service of higher education.

The majority groups, the General Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM) and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), welcomed this bill, which, according to them, reconciles the institutional autonomy of universities with their involvement in major public policies, while introducing innovative governance mechanisms and strengthening the role of civil society in guiding higher education and scientific research.

They also noted that this text, which is not limited to mere administrative organization, aims to strengthen the link between the university and its national and international environment, while preserving the balance between institutional autonomy, public responsibility, and pedagogical and scientific quality.

The debates focused on the challenges related to the implementation of the bill, notably the contractual autonomy of universities and the need to ensure rigorous monitoring by central administrations and stakeholders in the execution and evaluation of program-contracts.

The speakers insisted on the importance of a cultural and administrative transformation within the university and the training of academic and administrative staff in the mechanisms of contractualization, strategic planning and institutional evaluation, as well as on the establishment of a system guaranteeing the quality of teaching and scientific research.

The Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT) group considered that the discussion of bill No. 59.24 comes in a national context marked by high expectations from the academic community and by the central role of the public university as a lever for development, a space for knowledge production and human resource training, and a guarantor of the values of citizenship and social justice.

The CDT stated that it had presented “clear and structured” amendments, taking into account the academic, social, institutional and legal dimensions of the higher education system. These amendments aim to preserve the autonomy of the public university and the free nature of public higher education, to strengthen the social mission of the university, to guarantee equal opportunity, and to improve university governance and democracy through broader representation, including trade union representation and that of administrative and technical staff, as well as gender parity.

It welcomed the favorable reception of its amendment on defining the status of higher education personnel and university residences by decree, while noting that the acceptance of the other amendments remained limited and did not fully meet the group’s expectations nor the persistent structural problems in the sector.