Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Education launched on Wednesday the Higher Education Partnership Program with the US Agency of International Development (USAID).
The program kicked off in Rabat with the presence of academic, political, and diplomatic figures, including the US Ambassador to Morocco David Fischer and Morocco’s Minister of Education Saaid Amzazi.
The Ministry of Education announced that the program has a budget of $5 million over a period of five years.
The Mary Lou Fulton University in Arizona will execute the program in coordination with Moroccan universities and regional academies of education and training, and with the help of experts in the private sector in the aspect of technical support.
For the US ambassador, the “project represents the fruit of over a decade of partnership efforts between the U.S. Government and Morocco’s Ministry of National Education.”
The US ambassador also pledged a “significant change” in the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools in Morocco, to help build a generation of independent learners capable of competing in the job market of tomorrow.
The US-Morocco partnership falls within the framework of law 51-17 relating to the system of education, training, and scientific research, as well as the basic training for teachers of primary education.
The program will also support Moroccan universities to enhance their human resources with the aim to implement its training program of “Bachelor’s degree in Education.”
The training program aims to enhance the quality of primary education through the training of teachers.
The Ministry of Education’s statement highlighted the US support for Morocco’s education system that has lasted over a decade. The support includes a total investment value of $250 million via programs of reinforcing reading skills for primary education students and boosting the general quality of education in Morocco.
The US and Morocco first announced the new partnership program in January at a ceremony in Marrakech. The Charge d’Affaires at the US Mission to Morocco, David Greene, and the Minister Delegate for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Driss Ouaouicha, presided over the ceremony.
Greene welcomed Morocco’s efforts to develop the educational system, emphasizing that the US is actively engaged in the promotion of education in Morocco.
