Education in The Eyes of The Current Moroccan Generation
By Mohamed Hikal, Opinion Writer
Sitting to a cafe table sipping my coffee, as usual, when an unusual scene caught my attention-two young girls leaning on a car window by the sidewalk.
I stuck my neck to take a look at the man “bargaining” with them. He was a grey –haired guy in his sixties. The girls seemed right back from school with a faint innocent look in their eyes.
That little innocence was about to be abused by this bargain. Holding the latest IPhone generation and talking in a strikingly confident manner, one of the girls slipped into the passenger seat next to the man.
At the time the second girl was trying to join at the back seat, the car pulled away and was long gone. She kept trying to phone her friend but in vain.
The young girl looked distressed and confused. Not believing that she has been denied company despite the potential she assumingly believed she had.
The scene evoked lots of thoughts and images in my head. « What has this world come to? » The poor are not the only ones to yield to this kind of temptations. The well-to do people do it too. Girls from higher class families having all the means to stay away of this humiliation tend to race the poor to this underworld life.
Worse than that, some of them seem to have the money to spend on themselves and on their lovers, too, and boasting the next day that she got the life and the control any one in her age would aspire to.
I still recall the teacher who asked one of his female students about the origins of the famous world traveler Ibn Battuta. The girl looked at the teacher defiantly with no sign of shyness on her face and answered: « Actually, I have no idea, sir ». The teacher then mockingly made her choose between two nationalities: Zimbabwean or Australian. The girl finally replied with some confidence: « He’s Australian, sir ».
Obviously learning and knowledge have become the least of the worries of these last generations. All that matters to them is getting involved in as many love affairs as possible and gaining as many followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook as possible.
Why don’t we learn and aspire to much more knowledge? Why don’t we let our minds grow as naturally as they are predisposed to do? Why have we confounded all values? Why don’t we live life moment by moment and quit sprinting ahead of our time killing our innocence? I guess it’s time we all stop for a moment and reconsider our own selves. We’re heading in the wrong way. Enough!
Education was and is still the most noticeable means to nations development and towards the eradication and the abolition of ignorance and stagnation .It’s the medium to pave the way for evolution and advancement in all areas that contribute immediately or indirectly to human welfare and stability and prosperity.
There is no magical spell that could make all this happen overnight. Only efforts of all parties concerned are liable to bring about the change necessary, without leaving the least room for chance or mistake.
We live in an ever-changing world that makes of learning part and parcel in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and evolve at all levels. It has become inevitable to start working on it to come up with the strategies and solutions capable of putting this vital and sensitive sector on its right track and make of our education the real locomotive of the long sought evolution.
Morocco has made of education its supreme cause and concern after that of its territorial unity. A large proportion of the public budget goes to this sector. Yet, most of international organizations reports refer to an increasingly decaying and a low performing organism.
In fact, the educational reform is a thorny and intricate issue. Adequate changes can be brought about by mere slogans and circulars tackling the issue. There needs to be a clear vision and a detailed road map that provides a crystal clear view of the nature of the Moroccan body, its needs and the projections of its people.
Seemingly, an etymological and ontological approach to this topic would be necessary while considering any possible planning or mapping. Such an approach will surely help have a clear look at how perfect the possible changes are.
Accordingly, that orthodox and unrealistic approach based on taking everything for granted won’t be applicable in the case in point. Only with reasonable and scientifically tested studies would change be triggered.
All views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Morocco News Tribune’s editorial policy.