Moroccan students can access the TelmidTICE remote learning platform without necessarily having an internet subscription and can freely download all the lessons and digital resources on the platform, Morocco’s Ministry of Education announced recently
The initiative aims to promote equal opportunities among Moroccan students and facilitate easy access to educational content, especially after the launch of preparatory sessions for baccalaureate exams, the ministry said in a press release.
Free access to TelmidTICE comes after the development of a digital system through collaboration between engineers from the Ministry of Education and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University of Ben Guerir, the statement added.
The Ministry of Industry, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT), and Morocco’s three telecommunication companies — Maroc Telecom, Orange, and Inwi — have also contributed to the project, the press release concluded.
The Moroccan government launched the TelmidTICE platform on March 16, three days after the suspension of in-person classes in schools as a preventive measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Pedagogical teams at the Ministry of Education made a series of lessons and educational content available on the online platform to allow students to continue learning from home.
The website provides lessons grouped according to level and subjects. It includes thousands of pre-recorded lessons in video format, and its database receives regular updates.
In early April, the Ministry of Education revealed that 600,000 students access the TelmidTICE website every day. The implementation of free access to the platform and a download feature for lessons would allow students to benefit from educational content without having internet, potentially boosting the number of TelmidTICE beneficiaries.
Media company We Are Social revealed in its 2020 Global Digital Report that as of January 2020, approximately 25.32 million Moroccans, or 69% of the total population, have internet access.
The initiative also comes after the education ministry canceled all final exams for primary, middle, and high school students, except baccalaureate tests.
On May 12, Minister of Education Said Amzazi announced the cancellation of exams and that students will not rejoin their classes until September to start the 2020-2021 school year.
The move, however, does not mean that the 2019-2020 school year has already ended. Students are still encouraged to learn at home through the various recently-launched remote learning platforms.