The overall enrollment rate has increased from 50.2% in 2015 to 70.4% in 2025.
Follow-Up
Hicham Ait Mansour, Director of the National Assessment Authority at the Higher Council for Education, Training, and Scientific Research, confirmed today in Rabat that the rates of access to preschool education in Morocco between 2015 and 2025 have seen a marked improvement, with the enrollment rate of children aged 4 to 5 rising from 50.2% to 70.4%.
Ait Mansour explained in a statement to the press following the presentation of the preschool education evaluation report for the 2024-2025 academic year, that since the launch of the Early Childhood Development and Universalization Program 2018-2028, significant progress has been made, especially in rural areas, where the rate increased from 36.3% to 75.6%, surpassing the rate registered in urban areas.
He added that the number of public preschool units rose from 6,185 to 23,182 between the 2018-2019 and 2024-2025 academic years, while unstructured units experienced a sharp decline, dropping from 18,882 to 4,946 units. He noted that the public budget allocated to preschool education has doubled, increasing from 1.13 billion dirhams to about 3 billion dirhams between 2019 and 2025, with a gradual shift in expenditure from investment to management.
This evaluation, carried out by the National Assessment Authority in partnership with UNICEF, aims to analyze the status of preschool education in Morocco for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The evaluation analyzes the state of preschool education in Morocco within the context of structural transformations, studying the quality of educational environments, reception conditions, educational practices, and developmental and learning outcomes for children by the end of preschool education.
The study also highlights significant challenges that must be addressed, including persistent regional and social disparities in access and quality of learning, the necessity of improving infrastructure and sanitary facilities, enhancing governance and funding for the sector, and standardizing and applying quality criteria, particularly concerning the training and qualification of educators, as well as improving their social and economic conditions.
Furthermore, the report pointed out the limited interactive educational practices within classrooms, the fragility of integrating children with disabilities, and the varying working conditions and professional framing of educators, especially in public and unstructured education, which impacts professional stability and the quality of pedagogical practices.
In this context, the evaluation outlines prospects deemed essential by the Higher Council for Education, Training, and Scientific Research for improving preschool education in Morocco, especially rooting the concepts of quality, governance, and institutional leadership, supporting the role of local communities within the framework of advanced regionalization, and enhancing the professionalism of educators through improved working conditions and stability, as well as basic and ongoing training.
This study included 180 preschool units (public, private, partnership, and unstructured) and targeted a sample consisting of 871 children, 180 educators, 180 institution heads, and 624 parents, in addition to 180 classroom observation sessions.
