It is our understanding that the Moroccan Scholarship Program has been a heavily debated topic in the media for some time now. Even up to yesterday (15 February, 2012) an article surfaced on DominicaNewsOnline, which painted a very disturbing picture of the Dominican students’ situation here in Morocco.
It is unfortunate that this article was posted on such a widely read news agency when it gave no factual basis for its assumptions. However, as students here in Morocco, we have chosen to give a clearer picture of the situation in Morocco so that all readers may be able to judge for themselves if this is actual “HELL” as Jack David described in his article.
Firstly, let us begin by giving the terms of the Dominican- Moroccan Scholarship: Currently, Dominican students receive two stipends which consists of 1500 DH (Moroccan Currency) bi-monthly from the Moroccan government (which has been received on time without fail) and EC $600 from the Government of Dominica semi-annually. Though this may not be a lot, once managed responsibly and with a little help from loved ones then it should at least be adequate. The cost of living in Morocco is comparable to Dominica with a few variations. Hence, the responsibility lies with the individual to effectively control expenses based on their needs and situations.
As far as housing is concerned, Dominican students are guaranteed housing for at least four years or up to the duration of the first degree. Presently, all the Dominican students are being housed at Cité Universitaire Internationale in Hay Riad, Rabat; which is one of the best housing facilities in all of Rabat. Rooms are adequate with basic furnishings and are shared by two persons. Each floor of every pavilion contains four bathrooms, four toilets and a washing area that are sanitized every day. On campus, there are recreation facilities for playing sports and other activities. The campus is also well secured as guards are always visible.
In terms of the education system, there are numerous public faculties and universities available for students given their area of studies. It is also possible for students to obtain their degrees up to the doctorate level, granted that they do well throughout their previous years. Initially, there had been some issues regarding registration of students for school, as the Moroccan education system has a few regulations that needed to be sorted through to accommodate the Caribbean students. However, the Moroccan government bended backwards to ensure that all our needs were met; hence every student in the first group of Dominicans has begun studies in their respective fields.
It should be known by now that four Dominicans returned home. With the exception of one individual, the basis for their return seems to be unfounded. Each claimed some sort of issue that was in the end resolved or were given the opportunity to resolve them but chose to return home instead. The nature of these issues will remain private out of respect for these individuals but it’s a shame that they have gone to such lengths to malign the program and the government.
After discussions with these individuals, their basis seems to have been that they did not meet the lifestyle they expected. Morocco is still a Muslim country and certain privileges or customs that we take for granted are prohibited in a Muslim state, even if Morocco is known to be one of the more opened and improving Muslim societies.
The difficulties most of us face in Morocco are the culture shock and language barrier which becomes more tolerable with each passing day. Additionally, Morocco’s education system, especially in mathematics, is a bit advanced and may require a lot of dedication and hard work to succeed especially when coupled with the language barrier. But what in life comes easy? It is expected that we work hard to achieve our desires.
In spite of it all, we would like to express gratitude to the Government of Dominica and the Kingdom of Morocco for endowing us this timely opportunity that leads to the further development of young Dominicans and Dominica at large.
I would like someone to help me obtain a scholarship to study in morroco
hello..i am a student who is in the process of obtaining a scholarship to morocco.i am trying to get more information, and it would make me a lot more confident if i could get it from someone who is actually studying in morocco on the same scholarship.could you please provide me with a way to contact you.Your response will be greatly appreciated
Why can’t the Dominican Government see that the students- our sons and daughters,brothers and sisters have been left in the most impossible situation in morrow without a clear undersatanding of the position they have been left in. Why mot bring our children home to where they truely belong so that they can devote their knowledge and enthusiam to the benifit of their country, where their aspirations and dedication can be of benefit to their country. Please bring them back home, or give them some consideration and hope that all is not in vain and that you are thinking about them.
It is all well to inspire them, but without the backing and thoughfulness of the people who sent them it makes a mockery of the situation.
Many of them are unhappy and feels that they have been abandoned without the foggiest idea of how they can escape the situation they are in.
dominicans
sick boy
Different people go to different Schools
Therefore some people have it better than others.
So stop braying and getting mad because somebody dont liike the conditions and you find your living conditions perfect
Student, why do you continually defend this article. While your article,which I must admit, was well written, despite the two grammar flaws(no one is perfect).I have reasons to believe that this article in many ways “sugar-coat” the actual situation faced by students in Morocco. It seems that the article’s main purpose was to defend the government and not to state the actual situation in Morocco.Student:Next time you decide to write an article please focus on facts and expound more on the main problems. This article only opens room for more questions and this is of course only because of what I stated previously ,”the main purpose of the article”. The article was written to defend the government or was written to rebut against the other article. Again this should not have been the main purpose of the article. If this article was written with the purpose of conveying the actual situation faced by you the students in Morocco, then there should be little questions about whether the article is factual or not.
couldnt have said it better myself
one of the most expensive things today in this world is education but trust me.it’s worth it.
On a different note,I am curious to know whether any of our students have experienced the racism that is alleged to exist in Morocco against black Africans, or “Hardani” as they are commonly referred to by the Arab population, especially with regard to black students at the International University in Rabat, who are not of the muslim faith.
I refer to the observation by the Nigerian Nobel prize winner Wole Soyinka, who asserts that:”the unwillingness to confront Arab racism is rooted in the role of Arabs in the slave trade” and the Ethiopean academic Mekuria Bulch, who claims that some 17 million Africans were sold to the Middle East and Asia between the sixth and twentieth century.
Is it really a taboo subject as claimed in the Huffington Post of 9 Sept, 2011 under the heading
“The Great Taboo: Arab Racism”?
Could our students in Morocco comment on this sensitive subject?. And could they also comment on wheter they were adequately inducted to prepare them for the the foreign culture,language, relion, cuisine, etiquette and social norms they would encounter before they departed our shores. We should support and prepare our students in every way possible, not only in monetary terms.
nonsense, all u doh tired lie, typical laborites
the wording and phrazing in this article is “suspect” my friends,it sounds like a foreign
bureaucrat wrote that one lol.
they tink we stupid.
why we have to be negative when it comes to furthering of education. gone are the days when cxc’s are sufficient. Education is the key to success, take it however and whenever you can get it. And mark you getting a degre is not cheap and igs getting more expensive day by day. so let our fellow brothers and sisters eduacte themselves.
what are you saying?our university students in Morocco cant write an article like this?for Gods sake these students didnt get there by saying ‘baa baa black sheep’
As I sit and read the comments posted here I wonder what is the true motive of all this bickering. The REAL situation in Morocco or just typical Dominicans getting a means to expose the empty and useless opinions that zoom around in their brains all day. Some believe that the students are living reasonable lives in Morocco; reasonable i say because it may not be the comfort the are use to at home. In that case, i say to the students… nothing in life comes easy. You will not eat dry bread and drink water forever. At the end of the day you will all see the fruits of your labour. Hard work, my children, definitely pays off. If you are like the masses and believe that the Students are “in hell” like the first article stated, You may be like me who knows one or two of the students currently in Morocco. You may know them well enough to know their domestic situation. Now, instead of wasting time going back and forth, have you ever thought of probably sending this student/students some well needed assistance?? It may be a simple pair of winter clothing or depositing $20.00xcd into the individuals bank account? Granted, some may say that the students “sewoing” so their money will be put to better use, but there, I believe, are students who budget and only buy bare essentials. Do we Dominicans have no faith in our Children? Are they really that bad. #justsaying
what is the point of the “#just saying” part of your comment. That alone all u worth…run and pick up things allu see americans doing…aver #just saying ou…that looking so stupid and chic chic..
Y all you not going and try to learn those kind of languages there and stay in the place for at least six months. Most of all u suffering from diarhea of the mouth.
lol….. that was the only part of the comment u saw?? tsk tsk tsk…..SAD
Dear Editor,
I have one question for you: who wrote this article? The first one dealing with this topic was aigned by one Jack David, are you aware who penned this one? Would be delighted to know.
ADMIN: The story stated it was written by the students in Morocco as a group.
Three laborites
but you answered your own question …it was penned by us the students in morocco …
When another set of scholarships to timbuktu will be announced I hope our parents will have learnt a lesson, so I wont be seeing these kinds of plea in the media again. The kids going to this far out places are much too young and lack maturity some of them 18 and 19 still leaving with mama, never had to take care of themselves fully how can they survive in a place like moroco? Did they even take the time to research the place before diving for the scholarship? Or is it that they are so desperate to get away from mama to live the college life that they do not have time to find out about the culture? ministry of Education please put all the cards on the table before you send people’s kids out there.
I would like to hear about those in Serbia. Has any government official visited or even called to inquire on the well-being of the students there? How are they coping with the language? Do they receive a similar bi-annual stipend from DA’s gov like those in Morocco? Have any of them returned home also? Do any others plan or want to? It is easy to sit on our large posteriors and add mileage to our tongues when we do not have the faintest idea what is really going on. Only those in the kitchen feel the heat. Like a great singer once said ‘All I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us’.
oh so people know it have students in serbia then..money is not all
please note the followin 1500 moroccon dollars is 478 EC http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Morocco
and they get it bimonthly. WEll at least they get double what i get in China. Lol!
More and more as i grow older i see how difficult it is to live in such a world. A world where mankind thinks they are more inteligent but yet still more complicated to understand. In my view we are getting dumber to think that people would just judge simply on what’s said is a clear example. Who knows what the first or second comment was true or false? The truth is what you or i seem to believe and in my view that’s where the real problem is. Many times because we know how such liars and immoral we are it then makes it hard for us to accept anything else.What a shame. It’s often said that one can pretend to themselves but not to some else but many times we get so caught that we even fool ourselves. Ask yourself people are you being fair to yourselves or to humanity.
Correction, pretend to others but not to ourselves.
What folly! Untrustworthy persons are the first not to trust anything since they know what they are capable of and thet is they are not trutworthy.
We need some clarification here, while on that topic about Morocco. Dominicans were told by Govt. that Morocco was providing all the funds for the building of a hotel to be built in Marigot. The reason given for the hotel in Marigot was that the pilots and passengers who arrive in Dominica on night-landing flights would have a place to rest instead of travelling all the way to Roseau. Remember? All of a sudden, the project was switched to Portsmouth. We must never forget those things.
Now, the DLP Govt. at this sitting of Parliament is seeking approval for thousands upon thousands of dollars from our Tax money for that hotel projecxt, which we were told earlier would be funded totally by the Moroccan Govt. What confusion. Something is not right. We do not know exactly what is going on with that relationship established between Morocco and the DLP Govt.
Why ask money from the hard working taxpayers who are in the dark about that project? We do not know who are or will be the owners of that project neither do we know the total amount of money involved? Really confusing and as usual, if questions are asked expect no positive answers.
finally the truth, nothing in life comes easy,something dominicans need to realise and stop acting so hpyrocrite
This was penned by a government official.
…and yes there are bath rooms but what are their conditions
yes there are toilets but what are their conditions
and… yes there is $600 a YEAR…and I repeat, YEAR, so what is the exchange rate
and how much bread does 1500DH buy?
read the letter again and read it line by line.. take a dictionary to look up the words you don’t know the meaning to..
$600 semi-annually mean twice a year so that 1200ec a YEAR not $600 a year..the exchange rate is 1ec to approximately $3dh.. look it up on any currency converter..
1500dh buys 1,250 bread that means a bread cost $1.20dh
and i know because i bought one today
this was penned by students belive it or not …it seems that you did not read the pice properly but let me enlighten you again …. the bathrooms and toilets are sanitized bu the cleaners everyday … just as the bathrooms … and yes 600 ecd each 6months and the 1500dh is bimonthly … the exchange rate here is 1ecd=3dh ……
so i begg you to read before you speak … it is better to be fort of as a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubts ok
Waaaa…you get double what i get in China monthly!! and you get something bi-annually from Dca. I got nothing from Dominica but the chinese monthly amt. Dont worry…it will get better!
so we the students in Maroc are so dumb that we cannot PENN a simple letter to the editor??? Magway Sah…. Give Dcan Children some credit PLz
Damage control. Ask the Govts. of Cuba and Venezuela why do they acknowledge the rights of the Sahawari people for self-determination? Why have they established links with the Polisario Front for decades now in support of the struggling people, in that part of the world, fighting against the Moroccan Govt. instead of having diplomatic links with the latter? There must be a reason why our good friends in Cuba, Venezuela and other countries prefer to support in tangible ways the oppressed Sahawari people?
If you think I am not speaking the truth, do your own research. Google “Saharawi people” or “Polisario Front” and see what you come up with. Maybe DNO could help its readers by inform about the struggles of those People over all those years against the oppression going on. Only then would we really understand the true picture. Thanks in anticipation DNO of another side, so Dominicans could see the Bigger Picture. Information from all sources is key before conclusions are arrived at.
Sounds to me like a Government official wrote this.
yes marcel i agree with you because it is well written but i would just like to inform you that it was written by us
Are you saying that only Gov.t officials can write? remember we are sending competent individuals to pursue higher education. I believe that it was written by a student. I was also a recipient of a so called gov.t funded scholarships and left with the same illusion as many. That EVERYTHING will be taken care of for us. I am thankful for the reality of the situation. It helped me grow and appreciate things.
Guys you know how it is, the first year is the roughest. That is when we see who are the weeds and who are the good crops. After the first year it only gets better.
I think that we complain too much. Find out from the students who went to study in Cuba in the late 80s and early 90s what they had to endure in order to have as we say it in DA a “piece of paper”in their hands. Nonetheless they came out successful – most of them doctors. If the parents of the children studying in Morocco had the financial means they certainly would not send their kids to Morocco. Albeit due to the economic situation some wise parent would definitely think that it is worth their while to spend less money by way of a scholarship. The students should have know what awaits them in Morocco and condition their minds. Life is not and will never be a bed of roses, furthermore roses have thorns. I wish I had a scholarship, all now so I would not have to work so hard to pay a bank. Students it is time to wise up and stop the complain. Stupes man.
well said my youte i hope “jack david” get the facts properly before his inaccurate mischief research
Happy to hear the truth. Hoping that ull are coming back to create jobs for the society and not come back and depend on Government for jobs.
Dominican’s need to travel and open their eye’s! All that glitters is not gold.
The commentary was posted without a name attached to verify who really wrote it. But thats not from a student but rather from someone trying to achieve some damage control.
I hope there isnt a political propaganda machine at work trying to bamboozle our people..?
LOl.
Firstly, who are u defending. The government, the program, the students? I notice that u all have the ‘best housing’ in Rabat. Is that a poor underprivilleged neighborhood like yampiece next to the Dominica State College?
I want to hear from de officials about how the program is set up. U want me to totally disreagrd the 4 students and cast them aside as detractors ready to destroy our country good name.
This article reads like it was written by one of skerrit advisors. Whomever wrote this, I don’t believe u to be a student. U can’t deny dem their experience. It is theirs not yours. I don’t believe a word of what u say. U want me to believe that they are telling lies. U have no regard for yiur fellow students.
Not everyone has a family that can give de extra help. So a program like that is only for de well-offs. I thought we wanted to see a university graduate in every house including the households at tarish pit and gutter village, silver lake and st. Joe. After admitting that de government help is small how u expect people from these communities to make it with that negligible support from their government. Dem merchants and labor party sponsors can pay their children college bills easy just like yours. Everybody not on ur level u should not be so insensitive.
I studied at the City University of New York CUNY and then obtained a Masters Degree at a small college in lower Manhattan. Despite my familiarity with the English Language, both stints at school came with their own unique set of challenges because, it is higher learning, simply put.
There were entire semesters when I never saw a movie and the movie theatre was within five minutes walk of my home. Leaving home to further studies is not as easy as people think.
Add a Muslim countury, language barrier and strict social norms and customs to the mix and of course it will be a challenge. But I want to encourage all my fellow Dominicans to keep reaching for the top. I will trade a warm bed during winter for the chance to learn, grow and become a more enlightened human being any day.
“Despite my familiarity with the English Language” that part of your statement says it all. Let’s see how well you would survive if you had to learn Arabic or Serbian for a few months where all you generally learn is conversational stuff and then you were sent to a University.
Students in Morrocco, I would advise all of you to refrain from commenting on here. You have made your point clear and dealt with the situation in the right way. Much of the negatives on here are from bitter people playing politics, so don’t get involved, and leave it there. You know what you went for, concentrate on your studies. Like many before you who had it perhaps more difficult in Cuba, Venezuela and even in the biting cold of the UK and surviving on the minimum $ in the US, you will succeed. The prayers of your friends and family are with you. Back to your studies. What dey say dey say
Well-said, Jim! Me likes ur comments.
the truth has been revealed already. here is it above
Many of us would not believe that the sky is blue if the government said it.
In the same way that many believe the laborites are brainwashed, I can also see that the uwpites are also brainwashed.
As far as I understand it, this article is a closer representation of the truth. It gives both sides of the story, the good and the bad.
We need to be more objective in our criticisms.
There are always three sides to every story, Jack David’s side, the “alleged student” who wrote this article, and THE TRUTH. Now we don’t know what to believe eh!!!
You do not believe this article but you want us to belive the first one because?
http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2012/02/moroccan-strife-chronicled-in-student-film/
Moroccan strife chronicled in student film
By Arturo Garcia,
Posted on 14 February 2012.
I am a Dominican who lived in a strict muslim country for a month not to far away from Morrocco. What we need to understand that Dominica is not the center of the world and our culture is not the only one in the world. The Friday Free Up by JR’s and the “Sewo till Daybreak” attitudes that are so rooted in us does not exist in these countries. The Liberal way in which young ladies dress on the streets and many vulgarities are non existent..this does not mean that the place is hell..it is simply a DIFFERENT culture, something that we must come to terms with before we start critizing everything that is “NOT DOMINICAN”!
this piece reflects the true situation in morocco. heads up to the students who put this piece together to clear the air space. persons cannot expect the same life they lived back home in relations to being on a scholarship. students are meant to live as students when studying. the Moroccan scholarship represents forward movement for the people of Dominica and they should appreciate what the government has been doing for its people where this is concerned.
Here right –that came from one of the propagandist for the DLP government. Lies Lies and more lies. The four students who came back are all lying huh. Come on.
No fool, the saying cannot be wrong “one million french men cannot be wrong” you cannot jump to conclusions based on what a few persons who were disgruntled, said. you should get the facts before you submit to the likings of the few. the above article is definitely the true representation of the situation. presently, im a student in morocco.
If you really are a student there then post a photo with today’s date on it….then I’ll believe. A photo is worth a thousand words ..they say
yeh yeh yeh. I know all about it.
Like many Dominicans ..I dont believe you. Sounds like you protecting something or someone!!!!Why?
If you are so proud of your situation why don’t you come in with your real name. After all if you publically declare who you are you will get your gorvernment support on a more timely basis. You are singing the praises of the gorvernment so you need not be afraid of reprisal.
You are right. This comes straight from Govt. The flawed grammar gives it away: “bended” instead of “bent” and “opened” instead of the correct “open” are markers of a local Govt. news-disseminating orgtan. Maybe this report is factual but I’d rather hear it from a fair representation of students, interviewed by an in dependent journalist.
Malatete, this article came straight from the students here. are u trying to say that the students in morocco aren’t capable of writing professionally? oh thats a shame on you! anyway thanks for the corrections.
And you appear to be a student of the english language. I will pray for you on bended knees.
Since you seem to be most educated, let me correct your post:
You are right. This comes straight from Govt. (replace with government..you did not specify which government so it does not require capitalisation. Additionally, why the abbreviation?)
The flawed grammar gives it away: (you are not listing points so it a semi-colon and not a colon) “bended” instead of “bent” and “opened” instead of the correct “open” are markers of a local Govt (same as above applies)news-disseminating orgtan (oops: ORGAN not ORGTAN). Maybe this report is factual (insert a comma here) but I’d rather hear it from a fair representation of students, interviewed by an in dependent journalist.
JUST saying
I am so happy you guys wrote this letter. Once Dominicans hear overseas they just think is sweet life, u have to work hard like every where else. Nothing never good for Dominicans.
Admin at the risk of sounding like De Webb, where have all the comments gone? had some interesting comments this morning but i just didnt have the time to read them all.
The ministry of propaganda in action!! WOW!
Wake up! A lot of good things are happening in spite of what u believe.
Now this sounds more like how my brother speaks when we talk to him from Morocco!I’m not a supporter of this PM or his administration but I found the article yesterday to be misleading. Let’s call a spade a spade and stop politicizing everything.
DNO who penned this piece?
it was done by moroccan students just to enlighten the public
That is a lie. Came from a an appologist of the DLP.
Student, you are trying too hard in your goebbles job. If it was “done by moroccan students”, they would say “IT WAS WRITTEN BY US”. Don’t you think?
do they teach in french or Arabic?
they teach in french
In french. And it is an excellent opportunity for the kids to learn Arabic! They got to have open minds and take advantage of the opportunity. They are the future.
Just as I suspected. People moroco is a muslim state didnt you all know that before you play fresh up and run for scholarship? work hard for your money then you will have a deeper appreciation for your achievements.