Morocco: Reforming education-OBG
Education reform remains a national priority for Morocco, which is working to reduce youth unemployment and provide studentswith better training to match job market offerings.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Morocco-Reformi...
Oxford Business Group (OBG) writes that an overhaul review of the education system in the last three years has been carried out under the country’s National Education Emergency Support Programme 2009-12, is supported by a loan from the African Development Bank (ADB). It aims “to make education available to all and improve the quality of teaching and performance of the education system”, according to the ADB’s project appraisal report.
OBG says that access to education has risen steadily over the last three years. The enrolment rate for pupils aged between 6 and 11 stood at 97.5% over 2010/11, up from 91.4% in 2007/08. Rates for students aged between 12 and 14 also increased from 71.3%to 79.1%, and from 48.1% to 52.8% for students between 15 and 17. In addition, the number of students opting for scientific and technical studies rose from 55.1% in 2008 to 60.6% in 2011. OBG notes that success rates were also positive with a 14.04% gain in the pass rate of students taking the Baccalaureate exam.
However OBG notes that although access and participation are steadily improving, much remains to be done. The number of school dropouts, for instance, still remains high, with an estimated 300,000 children leaving school every year., it says.
Success rates also remain problematic with only 12 out of every 100 students obtaining their Baccalaureate and just three a Bachelor’s degree, OBG says.
Low participation rates in education persist in rural parts of the country, although they are slowly improving,OBG says, rising from 49.7% over 2007/08 to 56% in 2010/11.
A report released by the High Planning Commission (Haut Commissariat au Plan, HCP) in early June revealed that some 113,000 children under the age of 15 work in Morocco. A quarter of these children attend classes at the same time, but 53.9% have dropped out, and 21.2% have never been to school. The report also stated that nine out of every 10 working children live in rural areas.
OBG says that, in light of the need to improve results in the short term, particularly with stubborn unemployment rates exacerbating structural inequality, a number of other initiatives are being rolled out in conjunction with foreign donors to achieve more targeted impacts on governance and teaching quality.
In mid-May, the newly elected minister of national education, Mohamed El Ouafa, announced an $18.5m project in partnership with the Canadian government to improve the management of the country's 9705 public schools. Also known as Pagesm (2011-15), the four-year programme aims to boost local management of schools and help Morocco accelerate its education reforms. This agenda dovetails with the National Education Emergency Support Programme’s objective of devolving administration and strategy to the universities and higher education institutes and away from central government control, OBG notes.
Moreover,OBG writes an e-learning programme known as the Itqane project was launched in July 2011 in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, USAID and Al Akhawayn University. The project aims to improve the quality of training offered to teachers and distance learning for students. The initiative is expected to provide training to some 360 middle school teachers and 25 guidance counsellors and reach over 4000 students.
Ensuring equal opportunities in education also tops the list of priorities for the new government, as illustrated by Al Ouafa’s decision at the beginning of the year to remove designations such as the “école de l’excellence” or “lycée de reference”, which have exclusive admissions procedures and attract the best teachers. The minister said that these practices are both discriminatory and costly, and that resources would instead be spent to reinforce the curriculum in the public school system.
OBG says that these institutions are expected to be reinstated as public schools by next year
.
According to World Bank statistics, people aged between 15 and 29 account for around 30% of the unemployed in Morocco. Therefore, reforming education is key to the country’s economic and social development. Instability across the region caused by the Arab Spring has put more pressure on the government to step up its efforts in tackling youth unemployment through better quality education, OBG concludes.
OBG says that access to education has risen steadily over the last three years. The enrolment rate for pupils aged between 6 and 11 stood at 97.5% over 2010/11, up from 91.4% in 2007/08. Rates for students aged between 12 and 14 also increased from 71.3%to 79.1%, and from 48.1% to 52.8% for students between 15 and 17. In addition, the number of students opting for scientific and technical studies rose from 55.1% in 2008 to 60.6% in 2011. OBG notes that success rates were also positive with a 14.04% gain in the pass rate of students taking the Baccalaureate exam.
However OBG notes that although access and participation are steadily improving, much remains to be done. The number of school dropouts, for instance, still remains high, with an estimated 300,000 children leaving school every year., it says.
Success rates also remain problematic with only 12 out of every 100 students obtaining their Baccalaureate and just three a Bachelor’s degree, OBG says.
Low participation rates in education persist in rural parts of the country, although they are slowly improving,OBG says, rising from 49.7% over 2007/08 to 56% in 2010/11.
A report released by the High Planning Commission (Haut Commissariat au Plan, HCP) in early June revealed that some 113,000 children under the age of 15 work in Morocco. A quarter of these children attend classes at the same time, but 53.9% have dropped out, and 21.2% have never been to school. The report also stated that nine out of every 10 working children live in rural areas.
OBG says that, in light of the need to improve results in the short term, particularly with stubborn unemployment rates exacerbating structural inequality, a number of other initiatives are being rolled out in conjunction with foreign donors to achieve more targeted impacts on governance and teaching quality.
In mid-May, the newly elected minister of national education, Mohamed El Ouafa, announced an $18.5m project in partnership with the Canadian government to improve the management of the country's 9705 public schools. Also known as Pagesm (2011-15), the four-year programme aims to boost local management of schools and help Morocco accelerate its education reforms. This agenda dovetails with the National Education Emergency Support Programme’s objective of devolving administration and strategy to the universities and higher education institutes and away from central government control, OBG notes.
Moreover,OBG writes an e-learning programme known as the Itqane project was launched in July 2011 in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, USAID and Al Akhawayn University. The project aims to improve the quality of training offered to teachers and distance learning for students. The initiative is expected to provide training to some 360 middle school teachers and 25 guidance counsellors and reach over 4000 students.
Ensuring equal opportunities in education also tops the list of priorities for the new government, as illustrated by Al Ouafa’s decision at the beginning of the year to remove designations such as the “école de l’excellence” or “lycée de reference”, which have exclusive admissions procedures and attract the best teachers. The minister said that these practices are both discriminatory and costly, and that resources would instead be spent to reinforce the curriculum in the public school system.
OBG says that these institutions are expected to be reinstated as public schools by next year
.
According to World Bank statistics, people aged between 15 and 29 account for around 30% of the unemployed in Morocco. Therefore, reforming education is key to the country’s economic and social development. Instability across the region caused by the Arab Spring has put more pressure on the government to step up its efforts in tackling youth unemployment through better quality education, OBG concludes.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Morocco-Reformi...