Rabat- Despite the Moroccan government’s efforts to create an inclusive educational sector, public satisfaction with the sector dropped from 54% to 45% between October 2020 and April 2021, according to the Arab Barometer’s latest report released today on the occasion of the International Day of Education.
Titled “What Arabs Think About Education During The COVID-19 Pandemic,” the report reflects the Arab public opinion on the situation of their educational systems amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The report focused on seven countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.
Established in 2006, Arab Barometer is “a nonpartisan research network that provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of ordinary citizens across the Arab world,” according to their website.
The Barometer’s latest report found that Moroccans’ dissatisfaction with their country’s educational system is not limited to the impact of the ongoing-COVID-19 crisis but also discontent with the operating system.
70% of respondents from Morocco stated that the pandemic impacted primary education and 24% said that COVID-19 is the biggest or second-biggest challenge for children’s education.
Yet, COVID-19 is not the only cause of public discontent with the educational system. 20% of Moroccans wishing to migrate are driven by the pursuit of better educational opportunities for themselves or their family members.
With MAD 7 billion ($755 million) cut in the education sector budget between 2020 and 2021, the Barometer’s Moroccan respondents reported their preference to dedicate 37% of the government budget to education, making it the second priority following health care (50%). Additionally, 45% of Moroccans surveyed stated that “improving education is their preferred area for foreign aid in the country.”
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Governmental efforts target inclusive education
In celebration of the International Day of Education, Morocco’s National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) renewed its commitment to creating a unified vision of education in the country in partnership with various actors operating in the sector.
In September 2018, INDH entered the third phase of its operations (2019-2023) following its previous phases (2005-2010 and 2011-2018). The third phase seeks to learn from previous successes and challenges to “contribute to the building of the New Development Model of Morocco […] in favor of sustainable economic growth, centered on people and respect of the environment,” INDH reported.
As part of the third phase, INDH partnered with the Ministry of education to generalize pre-school education in rural areas across Morocco, leading to the establishment of 8,000 preschool units in 2019-2021, 3,790 of which are currently operating.
Additionally, over 71,000 children from rural areas have benefitted from quality supervision and 40,600 students were granted admission to 500 Dar Talib(a), boarding schools in the 2019-2021 period.
To counter school dropout rates, INDH reported the acquisition of 2,400 vehicles to transport 96,000 students to their schools. The initiative also provided free tutoring classes for 160,000 students across Morocco and allocated MAD 480 million ($51,78 million) for the “1 Million Schoolbags” project, benefiting 4.7 million children across the country.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, INDH launched a fun and educational program “Atfalouna” on national television and social media in 2020 and “Nadi Alhourouf” on social media in January 2022. The programs aim to “facilitate the mastery of reading in Arabic [to children] and to acquire strong and autonomous language skills.”
Moreover, the initiatives sought to counter female dropouts and provide equal opportunities to children in rural areas. For instance, the preschool units did not only benefit children but also created job opportunities for 4,520 teachers, 68% of whom are women.
However, providing female employment opportunities is not enough for achieving gender equality in a country where 24% of the population believes that university education for males is more important than university education for females, Arab Barometer found.
Other recent reports suggest that women are among the most affected by the socio-economic fallout of the pandemic in Morocco.
Moroccan women remain over-represented in sectors with little to no social protection and hard working conditions such as domestic work, agriculture, informal economy, and textiles and clothing, Oxfam reported earlier this month.
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