Morocco’s Head of Government, Saad Eddine El Othmani, chaired on Thursday, December 3, the signing ceremony of two partnership agreements for the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities.
The first agreement concerns the Ministry of Solidarity, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. It seeks to promote inclusive education through expanding access to inclusive schools.
Under the agreement, the parties pledge to develop a pedagogical model for inclusive education and supervise the rehabilitation, training, and education services NGOs offer to people with special needs.
The partnership also provides for the establishment of national training programs on the training and education of people with disabilities and for raising awareness about the challenges students with special needs face.
The second agreement seeks to support and facilitate the professional integration of people with disabilities.
The Ministry of Solidarity signed the partnership with the Ministry of Labor, the National Mutual Aid office (Entraide Nationale), the Social Development Agency (ADS), the National Agency for the Promotion of Labor and Skills (ANAPEC), and the Cooperation Development Office (ODCO).
The agreement aims to improve the ability of people with disabilities to enter the job market, as well as to support them in creating small businesses and income-generating activities. The partnership also provides for mobilizing additional resources to reach these objectives.
Commenting on the agreements, Minister of Solidarity Jamila El Moussali stressed the importance of making education and training systems more inclusive in order to help empower people with disabilities.
Meanwhile, Minister of Education Saaid Amzazi said the national objective of generalized access to education can only be reached with a more inclusive education sector.
“We cannot achieve generalized education without paying attention to the less-favored categories, particularly children with disabilities,” he said.
Finally, Minister of Labor Mohamed Amekraz said the recently-signed partnership will help his department develop a more inclusive national plan for the promotion of employment.
