Moroccan minister of education and sports Chakib Benmoussa has provided updates on his government’s program to introduce Amazigh language curriculum in all of the country’s elementary schools, confirming a 50% increase in employment for Amazigh language teachers. This reintroduction of Morocco’s Indigenous language is a major step in the country’s reassertion of itself after the imposition of French as the lingua franca during its era under colonial rule.
At the briefing, Benmoussa stated that “all Moroccan children will study the Amazigh language starting in 2029,” emphasizing the importance that the ministry is putting on Amazigh education.
The minister added that 478 candidates have successfully passed the recruitment exams for specializing in Amazigh language. Currently, 31% of elementary institutions teach Amazigh in Morocco—1,803 schools, 930 in urban areas and 873 in rural, have the language as a part of their curriculum.
Amazigh is now being taught in approximately 16,530 classrooms throughout the country, serving approximately 746,000 students, representing 19.5% of the total number of elementary school students.
Additionally, the minister announced that there are new curriculum enhancements to incorporate the Amazigh language.
These pedagogical adjustments include added cultural and historical content and new Amazigh textbooks for elementary education, updated and approved between 2020 and 2023.
The Ministry of Education aims for 50% coverage of Amazigh language teaching by the end of the 2025–26 academic year, aspiring to teach Amazigh in 12,000 institutions by 2030, benefiting approximately four million students.
