FRESH IMPROVEMENTS FOR MOROCCAN SCHOOLS

Ougdachi Abdelali Section:Humanities Magharebia. Rabat. 23 March 2011

To overcome peoples mistrust of state education, the Moroccan government announces new measures to improve the sector. At the initiative of charity and union organisations, Morocco created a new action group to reform state schools and defend childrens rights to education.The initiative comes at the right moment to support the efforts being made in the sector and to guarantee the right to a good quality education, Secretary of State for School Education Latifa Labida said at a March 17th press briefing. The government project aims at improving the performance of state schools. It also plans to evaluate the defects of the education system. The new body will be charged with developing proposals and drawing attention to the issues concerning state schooling. Mounir Charki, a member of the Achoala association for education and culture, said the action group expects a national debate on public education to improve Moroccans confidence in the sector. Doubt in public schools, however, has been high among parents, according to sociologist Samira Kassimi . Over the past decade, the kingdom has witnessed a real enthusiasm for private schools. Even those on very limited incomes have made it a priority to invest in their childrens schooling to guarantee a better education for them, she said. Hairdresser Hakima Merouani, a 32 year- old mother of two, is one of those who opted for private school, even though she has to work seven days a week without any days off to afford it. It costs me 1,800 dirhams a month to send my two children to school, which is half my average monthly take-home pay, she said. I provide their transport myself to save a bit of money. Id rather have sent them to a free state school to avoid the fees, but that would have been like condemning them to failure. She commented in my view, state education hasnt been constantly producing positive results for a long time now . Everyday is a struggle to keep going like this , she admitted.

(Adapted from:www.magharebia.com)

I.COMPREHENSION ( 15 POINTS ) BASE ALL YOUR ANSWERS ON THE TEXT. A. CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER FROM THE LIST GIVEN. (2pts) The text is taken from : a : a magazine b : the internet c : a newspaper B. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS . ( 4 pts ) 1. What is the role of the action group ?.................................................................. 2. List two measures suggested by the Moroccan government to regain peoples confidence in state schools (2 pts) 3. Why do more parents send their children to private schools ? . C. ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE ? JUSTIFY. (3 pts) 1.The initiative to reform state education is a bit late. .. 2.The Moroccan educational system is not perfect. . 3.Hakima Merouani believes that private schools are inexpensive. D. WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO? (3 pt) 1. The new body : ( paragraph 2 ) .. 2. the sector : ( paragraph 2 ) . 3. those : ( paragraph 3 ) E. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS. ( 3 pts ) 1. Lack of confidence : ( paragraph 1) . 2. To spend money on something to make it better : ( paragraph 3 ).. 3. chose : ( paragraph 4 ) . II. LANGUAGE ( 15 POINTS )

A. REWRITE THE SENTENCES AS INDICATED . ( 2 pts ) 1. Our government should improve education in state schools. Education in state schools .. 2. Citizens must not lose confidence in our educational system, the politician said . The politician advised citizens. B. PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE (4 pts) 1. My elder sister decided (pursue).. her higher studies in Rabat. 2. Scientists (possibly / develop) .. a new vaccine against AIDS in 10 years time. 3. Our headmaster (study) . the problem before calling for an urgent meeting. 4. Dropping out of school (can / avoid). if all parents and children had been sensitised. C. GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OFTHE WORDS BETWEEN BRACKETS (3 pts) In a national ( confer).. , an expert has presented ( innovation) .. and ( use ) ideas about family planning. D. MATCH THE WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER TO MAKE APPROPRIATE COLLOCATIONS .( 1 pt ) . 1. Critical a. gap b. fun c. equality d. thinking

2. Make a. .............. / b. .. E. FILL IN THE GAP WITH AN APPROPRIATE PHRASAL VERB (2p) put up give up checked in broke down look up. 1. When we got to the hotel , we and went straight to our room . 2. After reading the passage , our teacher told us to .. the difficult words in a dictionary. F. MATCH EACH SENTENCE WITH ITS APPROPRIATE FUNCTION (3 pts)

1. Adults go to literacy classes so as to learn how to read and write. 2. Citizenship refers to a set of rights and cultures. 3. Although many efforts are made , our educational system must be improved. a. addition. b.defining. c.purpose. d.cause and effect. e.concession III. WRITING. ( 10 POINTS )

Dropping out of school has always been a serious problem in the Moroccan educational system. Write an article to your school magazine about the causes of this phenomenon and suggest some solutions to put an end to this problem.

KEY AND MARKING SCALE I. COMPREHENSION ( 15 pts ) A. ORIGIN OF THE TEXT . ( 2 pts ) b. the internet. B. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. (4 pts) QUESTION N2 (2pts) 1. The role of the action group is to reform state schools and defend childrens rights to education. 2. To support the efforts being made in education. To guarantee the right to a good quality education. To improve the performance of state schools. To evaluate the defects of the educational system. 3. .. because for parents, to invest in their childrens schooling and to guarantee a better education for them is a priority. C. TRUE / FALSE + APPROPRIATE JUSTIFICATION. ( 1 pt each ) 1. False. The initiative comes at the right moment to support.. 2. True. It also plans to evaluate the defects of the educational system. 3. False. Id rather have sent them to a free state school to avoid the fees. / work seven days a week..to afford it. / It costs me 1800 dhs which is half my average monthly pay D. UNDERLINED WORDS. ( 1 pt each ) 1. The new body : (paragraph 2) . the new action group. 2. The sector : (paragraph 2) . education.

3. those : (paragraph3). parents E. SYNONYMS . ( 1 pt each ) 1. mistrust 2. to invest 3. opted for II. LANGUAGE ( 15 pts ) A. SENTENCE REWRITING . ( 1 pt each ) 1. Education in state schools should be improved 2.The politician advised citizens not to lose confidence B. TENSES . ( 1 pt each ) 1. to pursue 2. will have possibly developed 3.had studied 4. could have been avoided C. CORRECT FORM OF WORDS. ( 1 pt each ) conference innovative useful D. COLLOCATIONS. ( 0.5 each ) a. Critical thinking. b. Make fun. E. PHRASAL VERBS .( 1 pt each ) 1. checked in 2. look up F. FUNCTIONS. ( 1 pt each ) 1. purpose. 2. defining.

3.concession.