Scientific and technological advancements have significantly improved human life and provided solutions to numerous challenges. However, these developments have also exerted a significant strain on the environment.
The growing population, coupled with rising consumption and the depletion of natural resources, has exacerbated these issues, leading to climate change. This poses an existential threat to humanity, particularly affecting vulnerable communities and developing nations, which often bear the brunt of climate change’s impacts.
Addressing this challenge will require immediate behavioral changes to adapt to and respond to the immediate crises, while also learning to adopt more sustainable practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the long term. It demands urgent international cooperation and coordinated solutions at all levels, which include education.
Education is key to addressing this crisis. Through investing in schools, we can make students the cornerstone of the fight against climate change. Through schools, we can cultivate a generation that understands the importance of environmental protection by deepening their knowledge of climate change, its causes, and its consequences.
By dedicating specific units on the environment in curricula at all levels and engaging in practical climate-related activities, we can instill values of sustainability and social responsibility. This will empower students to develop innovative solutions to climate challenges, such as exploring new renewable energy sources and designing sustainable cities.
There is a growing call in Morocco for all forms of education to fully enable individuals, as agents of change, to acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes needed to contribute effectively to the green transition of our societies, including career pathways.
The imperative for “greening” education in Morocco is driven not only by the global crisis of climate change but also by the general failure of national education systems to integrate this approach thus far.
An analysis of 100 of Morocco’s national curriculum frameworks reveals that almost half (47%) do not address climate change. Unsurprisingly, only one-third of teachers felt able to effectively explain the effects of climate change in their regions, and 70% of youth surveyed in 2021 could not describe the broad principles of climate change due to a lack of quality in the current way it is taught. Yet, most teachers and students believe that climate change is occurring and view education as necessary to address it. Clearly, there is an urgent need for “greening” education.
Looking at the bigger picture, in regards to the education sector, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been promoted for decades. It is enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on quality education, specifically Target 4.7 which aims to ensure all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.
On the part of the environment sector, there is a plethora of international agreements and proposals in place, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, SDG 13 on climate action, and Target 13.3 on improving education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning. There is also the recent COP28 Declaration for the Common Agenda for Education and Climate Change, which recognizes the essential role of education in addressing climate change.
As with institutions within the global community, Moroccan schools are also called upon to play a more active role in addressing climate change by equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to integrate environmental education into their lessons and classroom activities. Towards this goal, it is essential to organize competitions and incentives for scientific research to find alternative solutions, as well as involve parents to raise their awareness of the dangers of climate change and the importance of their role in promoting sustainable behaviors at home.
Transforming education to achieve sustainable development requires more than isolated teaching and learning efforts, as important as these are. It needs the integration of “greening” education principles into all dimensions of a learning institution, such as in curriculum, pedagogy, structures, organization, and ethics, which affect each other and must be viewed as a coherent whole. A holistic approach to the institution involves rethinking school governance, teaching content and methodology, campus and facilities management, as well as cooperation with partners and communities at large. In this way, the institution itself becomes and functions as a model for learners.
By adopting this comprehensive approach, with schools at its core, Morocco can achieve sustainable development and enhance its resilience to tackle future climate challenges.
Read Also: Morocco Continues to Strengthen Focus on Renewable Energy for Sustainable Growth
