{"id":1113,"date":"2015-10-11T11:53:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T11:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moroccodemia.com\/en\/?page_id=1113"},"modified":"2020-07-30T09:40:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T09:40:38","slug":"phd-to-be-or-not-to-be","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.moroccodemia.com\/en\/phd-to-be-or-not-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD, to be or not to be"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PhD, to be or not to be<\/h1>\n
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\"PhD<\/div>\n

By Hassan Bouzidi*<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

September 3, 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

When Dr Wahbi got his doctorat\u00a0<\/i>from a University in France, little did he know that the degree he has just earned would one day be the object of contention.<\/span><\/p>\n

As he was about to pack his bags and head back to Morocco, he heard rumors about academic\u00a0equivalences\u00a0and wanted to make sure that his degree would in fact count as a\u00a0doctorat d’\u00e9tat\u00a0(the equivalent of the PhD).\u00a0\u00a0When he called home, he was told that the Ministry of Higher Education did in fact not recognize the French doctorate as a PhD.<\/span><\/p>\n

So he decided to try his luck across the channel and applied to London School of Economics to do a PhD.\u00a0\u00a0At LSE, he was told that he could not do a PhD, for the simple reason that his French\u00a0doctorat<\/i>\u00a0already counted as a PhD.\u00a0\u00a0He was told he could do a post-doctoral instead, which he did. On completion of his post-doctoral he decided it was time to head back home. \u00a0On the application form he handed in at the local university in Morocco, Dr Wahbi indicated that he was a Doctor of Philosophy and that he spent three years as a post-doc at London University.\u00a0\u00a0He also specified that he earned his doctorate from the Sorbonne, a respectable French University.\u00a0\u00a0He was asked to provide a \u2018degree-evaluation certificate\u2019 which he needed to get from the Ministry of Higher Education.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the\u00a0Bureau d\u2019Equivalences\u00a0<\/i>in the capital Rabat, the official he spoke to informed him that his was in fact not a PhD but a “mere” French\u00a0doctorat<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0When Dr Wahbi tried to explain that the British could not have gotten it wrong for recognizing his French degree as a PhD, the official then opened his office desk drawer and produced a document.\u00a0\u00a0He put it down on his desk, and run his pencil down the list of universities whose degree certificates would be recognized as a PhD.\u00a0\u00a0Dr Wahbi\u2019s was not on the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike the French doctorat, its Belgian counterpart is\u00a0recognized\u00a0as a PhD and its holder is systematically\u00a0given the\u00a0\u00e9quivalence <\/i>with a Moroccan\u00a0doctorat d\u2019\u00e9tat.\u00a0\u00a0For this reason, more and more Moroccan nationals studying in France and who intend to go back home after the completion of their studies prefer to\u00a0enroll\u00a0in a\u00a0neighboring\u00a0country, at least at the level of the PhD.<\/span><\/p>\n

The government is not giving any clear justification for its decision to recognize some doctorates as PhDs but not others.\u00a0\u00a0Some in the opposition argue that it is due to the financial burden to be shouldered by the government were it to recognize the French doctorat<\/em> as a PhD. A huge number of holders of the French degree are teaching at Moroccan universities and to recognize their degrees as PhDs would also mean that their salaries would be increased substantially.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some holders of the “anglo-saxon” PhDs say that the quality of the French\u00a0“francophone” doctorat<\/i> leaves a lot to be desired and that to recognize them as PhDs would mean that universities would be filled with \u2018false doctors\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0Holders of the French doctorate say this is sheer \u2018academic discrimination\u2019 and argue that they have spent as many years on their doctorates as would holders of the English or American PhDs. They claim that their French\u00a0doctorat<\/i>\u00a0should be given the\u00a0\u00e9quivalence<\/i>\u00a0and be recognized as a PhD. \u00a0A\u00a0Syndicat des Enseignants Chercheurs Porteurs d\u2019un Doctorat Fran\u00e7ais<\/em>\u00a0has been created to allow holders of the French\u00a0doctorat<\/i>\u00a0to voice their grievances.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>This year, the University Teachers\u2019 Union leadership have signed a deal with the government. \u00a0Holders of the French doctorate did not get full recognition as PhDs.\u00a0\u00a0Instead, four years has been added on to their seniority.\u00a0\u00a0This would mean that, in the Moroccan system, they would get some form of promotion based on their present status.\u00a0\u00a0Some will even be promoted to the position of\u00a0doctorat d\u2019\u00e9tat<\/i>\u00a0or PhD, but only because of their \u2018length of service\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0It would also mean that their salaries would be raised accordingly. Many academics have rejected the government\u2019s offer which they said was below their expectations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They are now collecting signatures for an appeal to the government.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a campaigning leaflet distributed to academics this week, the spokesman for those who have rejected the government\u2019s offer, spoke at a rally in the capital marking the Union\u2019s decade of struggle and said that, after years of campaigning and sit-ins in front of the parliament building, the Union has let them down. They threaten to extend the period of the strike over perceived intransigence by the government.\u00a0\u00a0They say that they are prepared to go all the way to secure full recognition as PhDs. \u00a0How will the government respond? That is the question!<\/span><\/p>\n

*Academic, \u00a0<\/span><\/em>Ibn Zohr University, Agadir\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

By the author:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Research: the weak link in the Moroccan Higher Education system<\/a>“
\n<\/span>[October 4, 2016] moroccodemia.com<\/span><\/p>\n

“Tougher Visa Restrictions in EU Present Opportunity for Morocco\u2019s Private Institutions<\/a>“<\/i>
\n[January 19, 2007]\u00a0timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Jobless Moroccan \u00a0Graduates Threaten Suicide<\/a>“<\/i>
\n<\/span>[ June 30, 2006] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/span>“European Focus for Morocco Reforms<\/a>“<\/i>
\n<\/span>[January 16, 2004] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Morocco Phases out International Programs\u2019’<\/i>
\n<\/span>[October 18, 2002] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Beards are Back but no Che<\/a>“<\/i>
\n[July 20, 2001] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span>“Moonlight Gets Blackout<\/a>“<\/i>
\n<\/span>[February 2, 2001] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>“The Challenges of Change“<\/i>
\n<\/span>[May 5, 2000] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

“French is no Longer\u00a0<\/i>de rigueur<\/span><\/i><\/a>“
\n<\/i><\/span>[April 24, 1998] timeshighereducation.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span>PhD, to be or not to be\/<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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