Morocco university professors suspend work following students’ threats, attacks

English language professors at Ibn Zohr University in the Moroccan city of Agadir announced yesterday that they will stop teaching at the university in protest of attacks and threats they have received from a student movement.  They called for adequate security measure to be put in place to protect them.

In a statement seen by Al-Quds Al-Arabi, the professors demanded the university president immediately intervene and find a solution to this “dangerous situation” and “to follow up with the perpetrators.”

They also called on the competent security authorities to provide the necessary security conditions for them to resume their work.

According to the statement, the attacks against the English language professors began a long time ago, with the latest of which being an attack on and detention of the heads of the English language division and the programme coordinator in their offices.

The statement explained that the college administrators, including the deputy dean, who came to inspect the incident were also insulted and humiliated by the students.

The head of the English language division complained to the security regarding the incident, but after the student acknowledged his crime and promised not to carry out such an act again, the professor agreed to grant the offender a conditional waiver. However, the following day, members of the student movement threatened the division’s professors and committed violent acts, according to the same source.

The professors stressed that they can no longer attend the institution to teach as they fear for their security and safety.

READ: Morocco arrests 56,000 migrants in eight months