Boosting online learning in Morocco during the coronavirus lockdown

Over 1.5 billion children and youth around the world have been affected by school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. To ensure the continuity of its students’ academic education, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Morocco has decided to shift quickly to online learning.

Following the government’s requirements of nonstop teaching and learning, most Moroccan universities have resorted to online education using digital technologies provided via their online learning portal. MARWAN, the Moroccan Academic and Research Network, has played a crucial role in supporting the remote delivery of higher education by providing the Moroccan universities with reliable high-capacity internet and access to resources equipping their online educational services with quality and efficiency.

Furthermore, MARWAN has hosted the online learning platform launched by the Ministry of Education, TelmidTICE, which is used by over half a million Moroccan students daily. This platform has over 3000 courses covering a wide variety of subjects that are accessible to primary and secondary education students, which enables them to continue their education

The European Union has had a very positive impact on the evolution of MARWAN since 2005, largely within the framework of its co-funded projects EUMEDCONNECT and AfricaConnect, Africaconnect3 at present. These projects have provided MARWAN with the essential means to meet the new challenges of research and education in today’s unprecedented isolation.

MARWAN’s Head, Prof. Redouane Merrouch stated: “To meet the growing demand for seamless access to teaching resources, that was already well underway before COVID-19, MARWAN seeks to develop and extend its cloud services and capabilities to host more applications, content and services for the use of students and academics.”