The Mohamed VI High School of Excellence (Lydex) in BenGuerir has established itself in less than ten years as a benchmark for preparation for major schools. In 2023, the high school managed to enroll around twenty students at the École Polytechnique de Paris (X), representing a third of the quotas allocated to foreign students. This feat makes Lydex an educational model to follow.
The success of Lydex is based on personalized support from day one. National recruitment, particularly targeting disadvantaged areas, is facilitated by scholarships from the OCP Foundation, thus allowing more equitable access to this high-level preparation.
During two years of preparation, students benefit from intensive coaching aimed at strengthening not only their academic skills but also their communication skills, their self-confidence and even their sporting abilities.
This system, often supported by public-private partnerships, is decisive in the success of Moroccan CPGEs. Students from the Lycée Méditerranée and the Lycée Al Zahra, for example, are regularly admitted to major French schools.
In 2023, Morocco managed to obtain nearly 40 places at the École Polytechnique and other major institutions in France, an impressive result which highlights the effectiveness of the Moroccan model.
This model could serve as a reference for sub-Saharan countries such as Ivory Coast, Guinea, Cameroon and Senegal where CPGEs are starting to gain visibility. The development of these preparatory classes could help to fill the deficit of specialists by training qualified engineers.
Several countries in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa have already launched or are considering launching CPGEs, taking the Moroccan model as an example. Morocco also dominated last year by winning more than half of the places reserved for foreigners in French major schools.
