In the wake of budget decisions affecting the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) since December 2025, parents of students in Morocco have voiced concern over the transfer of personnel costs to schools, a move that has led to unprecedented increases in tuition fees. Families could be required to pay up to an additional 10,000 dirhams per year. DR ‹ › Discontent is growing among parents of students enrolled in schools run by the Agency for French Education Abroad, as families face increasing financial pressure. In December 2025, the agency's board of directors decided to shift the cost of seconded staff onto schools, a move that has directly translated into higher tuition fees. Under the new framework, schools will be required to cover 35% of the civil pensions of staff seconded by France for the 2026–2027 school year, a share set to rise to 50% in 2027–2028. In Morocco, this represents an additional burden of nearly 10,000 dirhams per student per year. Parent associations at AEFE schools in the country have strongly opposed the decision, arguing that civil pensions are a structural responsibility of the French state, not of families. The cost of state withdrawal Speaking to Yabiladi, Moulay Driss El Alaoui, national president of the Union of Parent Councils (UCPE), stressed that directly managed AEFE schools are effectively an extension of France's public education system abroad. He warned that imposing such additional costs on families in a country that hosts «one of the largest AEFE networks in terms of student numbers» could lead to the emergence of a financially exclusive system, where diversity is gradually eroded. For him, the issue goes beyond fees and raises broader questions about equal access to quality education. El Alaoui noted that parent mobilization has helped refocus attention on equity in education and reopened dialogue with the authorities. However, concerns persist over the scale of the increases and whether meaningful solutions can be found to ease the burden on middle-income families. This debate, he added, now overshadows the traditional strengths of AEFE schools, namely multiculturalism and dual cultural education, which some fear are being undermined. A Senate information mission El Alaoui also pointed out that «parents of students in AEFE schools finance this education» and are therefore key stakeholders in its global reach. He called for stronger parental representation to allow families to play a more active role in discussions and better defend the interests of students in Morocco and elsewhere. «AEFE reform cannot be carried out solely at the expense of families, who have become the system's only adjustment variable. Fairness requires that all stakeholders share responsibility. In particular, the cost of seconded staff should remain the responsibility of the French state, with EGD statuses preserved». Against this backdrop of growing criticism, the French Senate has appointed an information mission, as families denounce budgetary decisions taken without their full involvement. The mission will assess the AEFE network and explore options for a fairer and more balanced reform. It will be led by senators Yan Chantrel and Mathilde Ollivier, both members of Français du Monde–ADFE.
