Massar: The Software that Broke our Education's Back Noureddine Boutahar

Students are taking to the streets in Morocco these days to demonstrate against Massar software because the proverbial little bird told them that it would hurt them more than help them. Although the Ministry of Education might have acted with good intentions to insure transparency and fairness in testing and grading, its untimely action has awakened a long dormant issue and truth: our education system is failing our students because of a myriad of reasons. This post, however, will cover only the ones which characterize teachers-ministry relationships and, consequently, affect the students and the teaching-learning process.

First, the teachers-ministry relationship has often been one of mutual suspicion and distrust. Both sides have been exchanging accusations for decades over the failure of our education system. Teachers have often pointed an accusing finger at the ministry and its bureaucrats and held them responsible for all the failures and disappointments of our education system. They have also criticized the department as ineffective and unproductive, spinning its wheel aimlessly. Teachers, on the other hand, have been stigmatized and labeled as instigators and education profiteers, and have been blamed for all the problems in education and for everything that goes wrong in schools. They, also, have too often been vilified and depicted as part of the problem instead of partners, experts, and authorities to be respected, consulted, and heard. This cat and mouse game is simply outrageous and has created an atmosphere of mistrust and has had devastating results and a serious negative impact on the teaching of Moroccan children.

Second, the above mentioned chronic, underground conflict is the outgrowth of the Ministry tightening its grip on all aspects of education. So, all the decisions have been made in a top-down fashion with almost no input from teachers who have and are still asking for an honest and open communication as well as a true partnership with the Ministry and other stakeholders. The Ministry, instead, practices the old Moroccan chauvinist saying of “ask for their advice, but never take it.” In fact, reports are regularly written by teachers about the appalling state of our education system and suggest reform strategies and options to improve educational outcomes. However, education officials – wise guys – usually take the propositions, if ever, with a grain of salt so as not to let the voice of hands-on men and women drown out or overpower their own. So, teachers have usually been the last ones to know of these superficial and limited patchwork reforms made at a ‘higher’ level.

Third, teachers have been, for decades, implementers of failed educational policies that they have had no hand or say in creating, and they are almost never partners in the policy development process. The deployment of Massar software a few weeks ago bears out on this claim. It came like a clap of thunder because neither the administrators nor the teachers nor the students were prepared for it. Certainly, the digital school management system will not hurt the students, but it has created a tense and uncomfortable atmosphere and roiled suspicion and fear because of the Ministry’s rashness and arbitrariness in introducing it. If it is natural for students to fear what they don’t know, it is not necessary for the Education Department to rush out the software until those it would affect get familiar and acquainted with it. It would have been better if the Ministry had piloted the software for enough time and allowed all the parties concerned to comment on it and make suggestions. The present version of the software has a few flaws that have to be fixed. These include – at this writing – things like a contradiction with ministerial memos in terms of the number of quizzes and tests and the overlooking of some subjects. So, what soured many is not the software itself, but the Ministry’s modus operandi.

Fourth, and I hope to be wrong on this one, our Makhzen – in general– often creates distractors to occupy people when it feels there is mounting dissatisfaction and/or frustration with substantive issues. Distracting people with side issues is a formula that never fails our de facto rulers (Makhzen). Most probably, Massar is one of these smoke screens used to hide the real and urgent need for a better and fundamental reform in education that involves all the stakeholders in the formulation of the purposes, ends, and means of our education. My last worry, though, is whether this software will survive and live up to the expectations of committed and dutiful teachers or it will suffer the fate of Gally Software, Genie, Programme d’Urgence, and others.

Last, but not least, is the frustrating bureaucracy which pervades every nook and cranny of this sector and hinders initiative, stifles creativity, and impedes innovation. I, myself, suffered the cudgel of bureaucracy time and again. A good – or maybe bad – example that still stands out in my mind happened back in 2006 when I dropped a project for my school that was to be funded by the UME and RELO for the simple reason that I could not cut through the meandering procedure of bureaucracy. Red-tape is not only frustrating and dissuading but also wastes so much time and energy and costs so much money.

To be able to make serious inroads into reforming our education system and into dealing with the current horrible situation, the Government and Education Department need to treat teachers, administrators, supervisors, and parents as true partners for the equal benefit of all. These partners contribution will make work lighter because, as Henry Ford said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”