Doha – Morocco’s mathematics team from Morocco was excluded from participation in the mathematical Olympics of the European Girls 2025 (Egmo) kept in Kosovo from April 11th to 17th due to delays in processing visa applications.
According to converting reports, the talented students, who had rigorously prepared for three years, were announced just two days before their planned departure that they would not represent their country at the prestigious international competition.
“We found on April 9 that Morocco would not take part in Egmo 2025,” complained a team member in a statement.
The students then found that their exclusion is due to the fact that the authorities were not submitted Visa applications in time, although the names of the participants are known for two months.
This incident remembers What happened When the Moroccan national male team was excluded from the international mathematical Olympics 2024 (IMO) in 2024 in London due to identical administrative defects last year.
This fiasco solved a widespread public outcry and the parliamentary exam with a written question that was addressed to the Minister of Education, but apparently did not result in an obligation or procedural improvements.
The 2025 team, from which the extraordinary students Khadija Benaissa, Lina Chakir, Imane Belarbi and Nada Senhaji consisted of, had invested countless hours in intensive training sessions for months and sacrificed personal time for this esteemed scientific competition.
“These students worked for hours every day throughout their high school years,” the press opened the family members of the students concerned. “The result should have recognized their efforts in a prestigious international competition. Instead, they were faced with an unjustified exclusion.”
The families vehemently condemned the situation as “not only a simple administrative mistake”, but “an insult to the intelligence and the effort of exceptional students, an obvious disregard for the value of hard work and ambition and a blow to the image of Morocco in the international scientific field.”
How bureaucracy killed the hope of a generation
The journey of the students to participate included a demanding selection process through competition tests, followed by strict preparation that she qualified for Morocco at this high -ranking event.
Their exclusion has deeply demoralized these young mathematicians, who regarded the competition as a rare opportunity to present their talents and to present Moroccan excellence in a challenging area such as mathematics.
As families tried to contact the Ministry of National Education and Officials of the Central Excellence Unit of the National Center for School Exames and Learning Assessment, they bumped bureaucratic obstacles.
According to reports, the ministry did not respond to inquiries, while the excellence unit requested a communication permit before presenting clarifications.
Morocco in recent years has excellent Even through outstanding achievements in mathematics competitions.
In 2023, the country secured first place at the Pan African Mathematical Olympics in Kigali, Rwanda with impressive 159 points in Kigali, Rwanda, and exceeded strong competitors such as Algeria and South Africa. The winning team collected two gold medals, three silver medals and a bronze medal.
Participation in international competitions offers valuable networking opportunities and can significantly improve the future academic and professional prospects of the students.
As a math organization listed About the IMO exclusion of the last year “Networking, which takes place during the one-week event, is invaluable and enables you to exchange ideas with some of the most brilliant scientists and mathematicians in the world.”
For the second time in a row, the administrative liability has destroyed the efforts of the brightest mathematical heads of Morocco and raised serious questions about the commitment of the authorities to promote and promote the country’s extraordinary talents on the global stage.
