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Moroccan contractual teachers held a national strike on Thursday, calling��for��13 of their colleagues on trial after protesting��last year to be acquitted.

Public school teachers in Morocco are usually hired by the country's education ministry, but more than 50,000 public school����have instead signed contracts��with regional academies, with which they are granted��lower pensions and less job security.

With the unemployment rate in Morocco currently standing at , the teachers say they had no alternative��but to sign these temporary contracts.

Contractual teachers have been protesting their precarious working conditions for more than four years, demanding permanent jobs and better civil service benefits.

Some of the teachers on strike Thursday travelled to the capital Rabat to support their colleagues,��on trial��for��gathering without a permit, violating the state of health emergency, and insulting security forces in protests last year.

Authorities stopped many teachers from entering the court for not having the vaccine pass, before adjourning the trial until 3 February,��a source from the striking teachers' committee��told ������.

Teachers are being hit with financial penalties��for��"practicing their constitutional right to strike", the source said.

"The teachers' 5,000 MAD ($543) is reduced by 700-1,500 MAD for every strike and protest we hold,” they��added.

Before being elected in October,��Morocco’s new prime minister��Aziz Akhannouch promised��to prioritise education reforms.

Despite numerous meetings with the contractual teachers, Akhannouch’s cabinet has yet to resolve the stalemate.

Contractual teachers are expected to start a��week-long national strike starting on 17 January, paralysing��Moroccan public schools as other staff and students prepare for��final and regional exams.