By Youssef Sourgo
Morocco World News
Casablanca, May 15, 2013
According to Mr. Lahcen Daoudi, the minister of higher education, scientific research and executive training, the number of scholarships awarded to academic students currently stands at 216,000 compared with 180,000 last year.
Mr. Daoudi, who spoke last Tuesday at the meeting of the House of Councillors, said that the ministry has reevaluated the budget devoted to academic scholarships, thus reaching MAD 1.2 billion instead of MAD 700 million previously.
The minister of higher education also noted, "This is a substantial effort in regard to the current situation." What is the current situation?
In this respect, the ministry has approved 85,000 scholarship applications of a total of 107,000 applications, reaching a satisfaction rate of 80 percent.
Mr. Daoudi even conceded that, "In some cases, certain grants are awarded to people who do not really deserve them."
At the university level, Mr. Daoudi said that the Ministry will proceed during the next academic year to increase the number of beds in on-campus housing to 54,000 beds instead of the current 37,000.