Technical glitch on Ministry of Higher Education platform sparks outrage among students and parents

An unprecedented crisis leaves thousands of students facing an uncertain future

Hundreds of baccalaureate graduates in Morocco are experiencing severe tension after finding themselves suddenly locked out of the Faculties of Sciences and Techniques (FST) due to a technical glitch and confusing design in the new unified digital platform launched by the Ministry of Higher Education.

Protests outside the Ministry demanding justice

On the morning of Friday, September 11, 2025, dozens of affected students and their parents organized a mass protest in front of the Ministry of Higher Education in Rabat. They are demanding an urgent investigation into the cases of approximately 2,700 students who fell victim to this digital error, which threatens their university ambitions.

“Improving the choice” becomes an exclusion trap

The crisis stems from the functionality of the digital platform used for selecting admissions to limited-access institutions. Many students clicked the option “I want to improve the choice” (Je veux améliorer le choix), believing it was a legitimate procedure that would allow them to keep their initial placement as an alternative. However, the system classified their files under “Abandonment” (Abandon), automatically excluding them from the entire system.

Shifting responsibilities and calls for urgent intervention

As universities stated that they have no authority over the Ministry’s central digital system, students have directed their calls to the Minister of Higher Education, Azzedine El Midaoui. They are demanding an urgent intervention to rectify this programming error and ensure their immediate reintegration into the institutions for which they met the entry requirements.