Private school owners deny high book prices, accuse publishers

Agadir24

Directors of private education institutions disavowed any involvement in the high prices of books and curricula used in training, rejecting accusations that they were behind the high prices of books.

They stressed that their role is limited to proposing educational curricula that are in line with their educational programmes, while they placed accusations on publishing houses.

In this context, the head of the Private Education Association in Morocco, Mohamed Hanssali, confirmed that “private institutions have nothing to do with the high price of books, as is being talked about by booksellers,” adding, “We do not import the curricula, nor do we set their prices, nor do we print them, as the responsibility lies with the publishing houses, which have the right to set the prices.”

Hanssali explained that “private educational institutions operate with different curricula, similar to what the public regional directorates do,” noting that “each institution has a curriculum and chooses its courses on its own, which is the same thing that is done in the public sector, as there is a difference in curricula according to the directorates spread across the Kingdom.”

The head of the Moroccan Private Education Association stressed that “the role of private education institutions is limited to referring families to books that have educational and scientific value, but they are not responsible for the prices,” noting that “the high prices that Moroccan families suffer from do not only concern books, but all materials that are consumed are experiencing an increase, due to drought and other things.”

The controversy over the high prices of imported school books has returned to the forefront again, with the approach of the 2024-2025 school year, which has sparked widespread discontent among Moroccan families, as citizens’ complaints have increased about the excessive rise in the prices of these books, especially in light of the absence of a responsible body that regulates the pricing of imported school curricula.