His Excellency the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mr. Yaqoub Ould Amin [also referred to as Yacoub Ould Moine in some sources], presided this morning, Monday, at the École Normale Supérieure, over the inauguration of the preparatory center for aggregation competitions.
This center represents a new component of the École Normale Supérieure as part of the institution's new restructuring. It is expected to begin its first phase during the current year, with specialties in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
The center aims to equip preparatory classes in engineering schools and higher education institutions with highly qualified teachers, as well as to localize preparatory training for the aggregation competition.
In his speech on this occasion, the minister explained that the opening of this center at the École Normale Supérieure follows an analysis of the results of the ministry's previous experience, which involved sending students to preparation centers in Morocco and Tunisia. He emphasized the importance of localizing these trainings to raise the overall quality level of the training system.
He added that launching the center's activities with training in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in line with the unified program of the French aggregation competition shared by certain countries in the region, represents a real challenge that requires mobilizing all efforts and allocating all necessary resources. He stressed that the success of this initiative will enable our country to meet the growing demand for aggregated teachers in preparatory classes of engineering schools and in scientific specialties at higher education institutions in general. This will open promising prospects for improving training quality and developing trainers' skills, through partnerships with aggregation preparation centers abroad, expanding the center's training offerings by launching aggregation preparations in other specialties, or establishing a national aggregation competition.
His Excellency the Minister affirmed that the Higher Education and Scientific Research sector, in line with the guidelines of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, and the implementation of the government program led by His Excellency the Prime Minister, Mr. Mokhtar Ould Ajay, is working to develop the training offerings of the École Normale Supérieure in order to support the pioneering project of the Republican School and strengthen its role in serving the education system, through a radical reform of the training pathway for middle and secondary school teachers.
In this regard, the minister recalled the official inauguration, six months ago, of the work of teachers, inspectors, and experts tasked with developing programs and curricula for bachelor's degree programs dedicated to teaching. He noted that their opening this year represents a major turning point in the sectoral strategy aimed at reforming the training system of the École Normale Supérieure, so that it can produce sufficient cohorts of middle and secondary school teachers by 2027—the year when the first cohorts from the Republican School will reach the middle level.
The minister emphasized that the reform undertaken at the École Normale Supérieure fits into a comprehensive approach adopted by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to develop the sector, support its decentralization, diversify its training offerings, adapt them to development requirements, and accelerate the implementation of plans aimed at fulfilling His Excellency the President of the Republic's interest in youth training and preparing them to participate in the country's development process.
For his part, the Director of the École Normale Supérieure, Mr. Hamoudi Ould Hamadi Ould Jaghdane, highlighted in his speech that the inauguration of this center reflects the Higher Education sector's commitment to developing and qualifying pedagogical skills according to the highest scientific and educational standards.
He added that the École Normale Supérieure has greatly benefited from the sector's reforms, particularly through the introduction of the bachelor's-master's-doctorate system and the opening of eight new specialized tracks meeting the needs of the Republican School. The graduation of their students in 2027 will coincide with the arrival of the first Republican School cohorts at the middle cycle, thus ensuring their reception by pedagogically qualified teams in both scientific and educational terms.
He also mentioned the approval for opening a doctoral school affiliated with the École Normale Supérieure, opening new horizons for scientific research and specialized higher education. This will help train a generation of researchers capable of making significant contributions to society, whether through research or teaching.
He affirmed that today's launch of preparatory classes for aggregation competitions in mathematics and physics constitutes a new step on the path of ambitious educational reform. This clearly reflects the commitment of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to preparing an elite of teachers capable of effectively contributing to the development of the national education system. This training will be essential to equip preparatory classes in engineering schools with competent aggregated teachers, instead of recruiting them from abroad.
It should be noted that the training duration at the center is two years. It includes theoretical courses, directed and practical work, periodic mock exams, and pedagogical workshops.
As part of its development, the center primarily aims to enhance training quality through partnerships with aggregation preparation centers abroad, to launch aggregation preparations in other specialties, and to establish a national aggregation competition.
