Morocco’s National Education Union is calling for Saturday to be recognized as a weekly day off for primary school teachers and for daily teaching time to be limited to three hours and 45 minutes.
The union said teachers should have a weekly teaching load of 18 hours and 15 minutes, distributed over five days, citing Decree No. 2.05.916, which establishes the working week from Monday through Friday.
Azzedine Oumami, the union’s national secretary-general, told Hespress English that the decree provides for a working day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., including a 30-minute break. Under the union’s proposal, two teachers sharing a classroom would divide the school day, with each teaching for half the day.
“This would amount to 18 hours and 15 minutes of teaching per week, without requiring any changes to the curriculum,” Oumami said.
The union proposed morning classes from 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., followed by a 15-minute break, and a second session from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Afternoon classes would run from 12:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., followed by another session from 2:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Oumami pointed to Morocco’s pioneer schools as an example, saying teachers there work three hours a day over six days and alternate use of classrooms.
He said the three-shift system had operated without disrupting students’ education, noting that pupils continue to take the same exams and undergo the same continuous assessment.
The union accused the Education Ministry of failing to properly implement the decree by continuing to schedule Saturday as a working day and described the issue as a significant legal concern.
Oumami said adopting a five-day schedule would give teachers more time to prepare lessons while also benefiting school administrators and security staff, who would retain an eight-hour workday, including a 30-minute break. Students would also have more time to rest, he said.
The union called on the ministry to issue an urgent, unified guide governing the distribution of weekly teaching hours in accordance with the legal provisions governing public employees’ working time.
It has also threatened to stage a protest on Sept. 5 if Saturday is not declared a weekly day off before the start of the 2026-27 school year. The date falls on a Saturday and marks the start of classes for fifth- and sixth-grade primary students, third-year middle school students and second-year high school students.
The union is also calling for a ban on mandatory meetings, activities, assignments and training sessions for teachers on Saturdays, arguing that legally established working and rest days must be respected.
The issue was among the demands discussed during negotiations over the education sector’s basic regulatory framework, according to the union.
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