Morocco’s Education: Private Schools Receive Only 14% of Students

Rabat – Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, and Scientific Research Said Amzazi has presented figures of the 2017-2018 school year at the 14th session of the Higher Council of Education.

Of Morocco’s 7,031,355 students, 1 out of 7 are enrolled in private schools. Although many Moroccan parents enroll their children in private schools, there are still more students in public schools. While over 6 million students go to public schools, just under 1 million go to private schools.

According to Amzazi at the July 16-17 session, 52 percent of students are boys and 48 percent are girls. The total number of students has increased by 15 percent since the 2008-2009 school year. The statistics were published in the news outlet Lakome.

While the number of students enrolled in primary schools is high, comparatively few reach the high school level in Morocco. According to Amzazi, nearly 62 percent of students in Morocco are enrolled in primary school, 24 percent in secondary school, and only 14 percent in high school.

“In the past, a student could pass with an average of less than 5 out of 10 in primary school and less than 10 out of 20 in secondary school. Now this will end. Starting from the next school year, a student who do not get 5 in primary school and 10 in secondary and high school will not pass,” Amzazi explained.

Figures on schools and teachers

Amzazi’s statistics showed that there were 219,672 teachers in the previous school year.

He also noted Morocco has 16,285 schools, 10,905 (67 percent) of which are public and 5,380 (33 percent) of which are private. Fifty-four percent of public schools are in urban areas, while 46 percent are in rural areas.

Private schools, which represent 1/3 of the total number of schools in Morocco, receive only 14 percent of the students. The figure reveals that there are more students per school in public schools.

On July 12, Amzazi said that the ministry will launch a education in Morocco of generalization and reform of the pre-primary education in Morocco. The program, including the 2018-2019 academic year, will start on July 18 and run to 2028.