On this occasion, His Royal Highness attended a ceremony marked, at first, by the verses of the Holy Qur'an recited by a pupil of the foundation. Subsequently, Mustapha Fettouh, teacher in charge of the institution, expressed his deep gratitude and consideration for the support and solicitude that HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa continues to lavish on deaf students.
President of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, Karim Essakalli, underlined, on the same occasion, that the foundation, a pioneering center of reference in Morocco that initiated for over 40 years the primary education for deaf children, "will allow, from the next school year and for the first time in Morocco, our children to benefit from the secondary education (junior and high school) in order to prepare the baccalaureate diploma."
To prepare students, this year saw the launch of the sixth grade that will, for the first time, allow six students to sit in the national examination for the certificate of primary studies, he added.
In this respect, the foundation's president thanked the Director of the Academy and the delegate of the National Education Ministry in Rabat, who "allowed an adaptation of the national exam for our students, taking into account their specific needs."
In vocational training, he noted that in addition to workshops, embroidery-sewing, hairdressing-beauty and plastic arts, two new activities were launched this year in the Foundation. This is, according to him, a workshop of computer aided graphic design and a culinary arts workshop. All these workshops will be real opportunities for social and professional integration of quality, said Essakalli.
After recalling that this year's ceremony did not take place in the new Princess Lalla Asmaa centre for deaf children and youths because of technical constraints, he said that the major works and finishing are completed while the phase of school, educational and technical equipment will only take a few weeks, thanks to the participation of two partners, Morocco Telecom and Redal.
"The new center, with its new environment and the significant increase in pupil numbers from 120 to 200, requires us to establish a new educational and pedagogical strategy in the short term," he noted, saying this requires the collaboration and partnership of the Education Ministry, Ministry of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Health.
Essakalli also recalled the generous gesture of HM King Mohammed VI, who offered to children of the institution a significant amount of foodstuffs.
These foodstuffs were handed to 120 families of students, attended by members of the board.
Subsequently, HRH Princess Lalla Asmaa handed awards to the foundation’s brilliant students and visited an exhibition by deaf children.