Rabat – The Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research (CSEFRS) conducted a study showing that 19.8% of Moroccans aged between 6 and 22, nearly one in five, left school early.
The ministry released the report which focussed on 3,000 Moroccan households in all regions of Morocco on June 12. The number of people who dropped out without obtaining a diploma or certification was 23.9% in rural areas compared to 13.1% in urban areas. In terms of gender, 20.2% of school-aged boys dropped out, compared to 19.3% of girls.
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The most-mentioned reason for school drop-out is exam failure and class repetition, at a rate of 33.8%, reports the CSEFRS. Low household income and poverty were second in the list (11.7%).
Other reasons included remoteness of schools (10.2%), the child’s refusal to pursue their studies (9.8%), the lack of school transportation (7.9%), (8%), the futility of continuing education (4.3%), marriage (4%), the absence or lack of social support for schooling (3.1%) , the parent or guardian’s refusal to let the child pursue their studies (2,6%), the exclusion of the child from studies (2,6%) and other reasons (10,1%).
The number of young people who have had no schooling is equally significant. It is, however, much higher among young people aged 18 to 22 (8.2%) compared to 12-14 year olds (0.8%) . The percentage among children aged 6 to 11, an age group where education is compulsory, is 4.5%.
