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Berlin – More than 160,000 students drop out of middle school every year in Morocco, according to the Minister of National Education, Mohamed Saad Berrada.
He shared the figure on Monday during a session at the House of Representatives.
“These are children without schooling, without training, and often without support in difficult environments,” said the minister during the weekly parliamentary questions.
Berrada linked this high dropout rate to incidents of violence around sports stadiums.
He said that many young people involved in these disturbances are those who have left school early and spend time around stadium areas.
To address safety concerns ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the 2030 FIFA World Cup, the minister announced that all stadiums hosting matches will be equipped with surveillance cameras to help identify those responsible for acts of vandalism.
On other education issues, Berrada explained that overcrowding at the primary level has been addressed, but still exists at the middle and high school levels, with a current overcrowding rate of 12%.
This, he said, is not due to a shortage of teachers, but to population growth in specific urban areas such as Beni Makada in Tangier, Médiouna, and Nouaceur in Casablanca. Rural areas are less affected by overcrowding, but face different challenges.
In these rural regions, multigrade classrooms, where one teacher handles several grade levels, are still common.
The minister said that the development of community schools will eventually allow for the end of this system, which is often seen as less effective.
The figures and statements reflect the broader difficulties Morocco faces in keeping students engaged in the education system, particularly in the middle school years and in rapidly growing urban districts.
