Moroccans Overwhelmingly Opposed to Retaining Summer Time

The decision to suddenly impose an extra hour to Moroccan standard time has left many people  angry and unimpressed. According to a survey conducted by Le Matin, on its Facebook page, 86% of respondents are against the retention of summer time decided this morning following the Government Council 

Immediately after its publication, this information provoked the ire of citizens whether in the street, in administrations or on social networks. Many voices have come forward to denounce "unilateral" decision-making by the government. "It would have been necessary to make a referendum before making this decision", comments a surfer. "We need a national vote," writes another. Many other comments focused on the problem of the rhythm of life that will be turned upside down especially in the morning. "Our children will have to go to school while it's still dark! A parent notices.

For his part, and in the face of these reactions, the Minister Delegate in charge of the Reform of the Administration and Civil Service, Mohamed Benabdelkader, tried to explain the reasons for maintaining this schedule by indicating, in a statement to the press, that this decision is the result of the study carried out by the Ministry. And confirm that this decision only responds to the demands of citizens exacerbated by the multiple changes of time that occur during the year.

He also indicated that the decision to add 60 min to the legal time of the Kingdom will be accompanied by a series of measures, including the school timetable, adding that the first criterion is to allow students to join their schools in the morning and leave them before sunset.

New school hours

The Ministry of Education has announced that schools will start at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. with a lunch break between 1 and 2 p.m.

The ministry has set the new time-table for all public and private schools, vocational training institutes, and universities, the ministry said in a statement Saturday.

The new time will be effective beginning Wednesday, November 7. The date marks the end of the first school holiday.

And airline confusion

Following the measure announced Friday, October 26 by the government to maintain the time GMT + 1 currently in force, Royal Air Maroc advises in a statement that its passengers flight schedules will be delayed one hour on departure and at the arrival of the various Moroccan airports from Sunday, October 28, 2018 to 03 hours.
For this purpose, and as a precautionary measure, the national carrier calls its customers to inquire about the program of their flights with its services at the following numbers:
- Morocco: 089000 0800 ;
- International number: +212522489797.

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