Barada: School Dropout is the Result of Two Decades, and the Benefits of Excellence Schools Will Appear in Two Years
Mohammed Barada, the Minister of National Education, Preschool Education, and Sports, stated that Morocco will begin to reap the benefits of the Excellence Schools two years after their implementation in primary and middle education. He explained that issues related to school dropout have accumulated over the past two decades and cannot be resolved in just one year.
During a session of oral questions at the House of Councillors, Barada added that the ministry, in coordination with regional academies and provincial directorates, has focused on two main pillars to rehabilitate rural schools: the first pertains to reform and maintenance, while the second concerns connectivity to water, electricity, and sewage systems.
The minister noted that the program’s outcomes for the period from 2022 to 2026 include the renovation and repair of 4,899 educational institutions, the rehabilitation of 4,628 primary schools under the Excellence Schools program, and 768 middle and high schools designated as excellence schools, bringing the total number of rehabilitated institutions to more than 9,000 out of 12,000 schools. He added that completing the Excellence Schools program will enable the rehabilitation of all educational institutions in the kingdom over a continuous five-year period.
Barada also indicated that the education system includes about 13,000 branch schools, of which 4,000 lack access to water networks. He emphasized that the ministry is working to connect these schools to water or provide tanks, allowing students to benefit from sanitary facilities. He explained that the ministry has built health facilities in 3,345 educational institutions and constructed walls and fences in 2,063 schools, in addition to improving access for children with disabilities in 5,100 institutions.
The minister pointed out that education in rural areas faces additional challenges compared to urban areas, including a lack of heating resources, difficulties in transporting students, and the presence of some villages with a limited number of students, making it challenging to provide an independent school.
Barada presented some statistics at the regional level, confirming that the success rate in the baccalaureate exams reached 99% in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, 96% in the Eastern region, and over 70% in the same region, while the percentage of excellence schools in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region stood at 100%.
Regarding human resource management, the minister mentioned that the total cost of the agreements made on December 10 and 26, 2023, with educational unions amounted to 20 billion dirhams. This includes general wage increases, bonuses for sports institutions, and compensations for administrative burdens and overtime. He also noted that the ministry issued 45 regulatory texts for the implementation of the specific statute for its employees, with 11 additional texts prepared, five of which are currently under approval and publication, while six are in preparation.
