RABAT- According to Chakib Benmousa, Morocco’s Minister of National Education, Primary Education, and Sports, this year will witness a significant rise in the number of candidates taking the baccalaureate exams.
The number of candidates is expected to reach approximately 426,000, marking an increase of around 18 percent compared to the previous year. Benmousa stressed in a speech given in the parliament yesterday that cheating will not be tolerated and that harsh punishments will be imposed on students found cheating.
During a recent session amid the weekly oral questions in the House of Representatives, Benmousa provided detailed information about the composition of the candidate pool.
He mentioned that there has been a decrease in the number of independent candidates this year. Approximately 132,000 independent candidates will be taking the exams, indicating a decrease of about 34 percent compared to the previous year.
He revealed that 10 percent of the candidates come from private educational institutions, while 43 percent hail from an international high-school branch (having studied in high school with an international language).
In terms of the distribution of candidates across academic branches, the minister highlighted that 53 percent of the candidates are from the scientific and technical branch, while the literary and cultural branch accounts for 41 percent. It is worth noting that the vocational branch constitutes only 1 percent of the candidate population.
The Moroccan Times.
