1) Morocco has made progress toward achieving universal primary education but still faces challenges, including high dropout rates, large class sizes, outdated curriculum, and gender inequality. Rural girls face financial hardships, long commutes to school, sexual harassment, and early marriage, all contributing to their high dropout rates. 2) Integrating more ICTs such as computers, internet access, and multimedia content could help engage students, motivate teachers, and improve education quality. However, most Moroccan primary schools still lack such technologies. 3) While Morocco has implemented education reforms and strategies to expand access and literacy, further efforts are needed such as increasing education spending, building more rural schools, training more teachers, and raising

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Grace Craft
SEMS 3500-109: Development Communication
December 3, 2015
MDG 2- Universal Primary Education in Morocco
The global support and movement behind the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
has produced the most successful anti-poverty movement in history. The MDGs were established
and adopted in the year 2000 and although there is much improvement to still be made, we have
come quite a long way as a result of these goals. The goal I am focusing on is Goal 2: achieving
universal primary education and I am concentrating specifically on Morocco. According to an
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) position paper titled “ICT in
the Classroom for Quality Education,” “Quality education is a foundation for other forms of
development: it empowers people to become better informed, more gainfully employed,
healthier, and fosters a more democratic environment.” I really do believe this to be true. Aside
from education allowing people to become more productive members of society, it is also the
cornerstone for achieving the remaining Millennium Development Goals including eradicating
extreme poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child
mortality, combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental
sustainability. MDG 2’s target is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, can complete a full course of primary schooling. Achieving universal primary education
also means more than just full enrollment. It also includes quality education, meaning that all
children who attend school regularly learn basic literacy and numeracy skills and complete
primary school on time. It is clearly 2015 now and we have not achieved this goal; in fact,
projections suggest that 58 of the 86 countries that have not yet reached universal primary

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education will not do so by 2015 (“End Poverty 2015”). However, progress has been made and I
believe that we are on the right path to reach this goal.
Receiving a quality primary education is so important and has a ripple effect on many
other aspects of life. On the Girl Effect fact sheet titled, “Why Should We Pay Attention to
Girls?” some shocking statistics are presented. Among them, an extra year of primary school
boosts a girls’ eventual income by 10 to 20 percent, when a girl receives seven or more years of
education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children, and research in developing
countries has shown a consistent relationship between better child health and higher levels of
education. These statistics are reporting information about girls, but there are positive ripple
effects that begin with education for boys as well. These facts are an illustration of the enormous
impact that a good education has on other aspects of life.
I will begin by explaining the education system in Morocco and the current situation
going on there. The education system is composed of pre-school, primary, secondary, and
tertiary levels. Primary school is a period of six years for children ages six through twelve and
provides basic education. Although primary education attainment in Morocco is improving, the
percentage of students reaching grade 5 is still lower than most Arab nations. The primary school
gross enrollment ratio is 107 percent, but only 79 percent of those primary school entrants
actually reach grade 5. Also, the adult literacy rate stands very low- at 52 percent (International
Education- An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues and Systems). The average number of
years of schooling is 4.37 (HDI Morocco). In 1963, education was made compulsory for all
Moroccan children between the ages of 6 and 13, however, this rule is not very well
implemented because some children still do not go for various reasons and many drop out before
completing primary school, as the previous statistics indicate.

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This leads me to examine the challenges and issues occurring in the education sector.
Although the enrollment rate is high, other problems persist. These problems include some staff
not being qualified, parents not supporting and encouraging children, some curriculum being
outdated, very large class sizes, language issues, and gender inequality. First, some staff
members are less qualified and inadequate primarily due to inhibiting tuition costs. Regarding
parents not supporting children, many parents believe they will have a fairly small role once their
child starts school, mostly because they view themselves as having a limited knowledge about
education compared to the “expert” teachers (“How Moroccan Mothers and Fathers View Child
Development and Their Role in Their Children’s Education”). The same idea is mentioned in an
article titled “The Right to Learn- Community Participation in Improving Learning,” which talks
about parents in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, but Moroccan parents have similar views. The
article says that many parents believe once they have enrolled their children in government
schools, it is the responsibility of the educational professionals to take over. Also, some parents
also may have attended school but have nothing to show for it, so they do not see how it will be
any different for their children, therefore, do not encourage them. If parents do not encourage
their children to study and do well in school, children are less likely to complete their primary
education. Next, some curriculum is outdated and does not meet the changing demands of the
labor market. The Culturegram states that many Moroccans believe that the education system
does not meet the needs of the job market or teach effective skills. In the “How Moroccan
Mothers and Fathers View Child Development and Their Role in Their Children’s Education”
article, four focus groups were conducted with parents of children of ages zero to six. All of the
parents stated that they were deeply dissatisfied with the public schools in Casablanca. Next,
very large class sizes are of concern. Also in this article, parents complained about large class

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sizes, which create management problems. In developing countries, there may be 80 students per
teacher (“ICT in the Classroom for Quality Education”). Language issues are of particular
significance in the Moroccan education system since the language of instruction in the public
schools is Arabic even though the language of commerce and higher education is French. Berber
family children hardly know any Arabic. Children do not begin to study French until they are
eight or nine years old and French instruction is second language instruction. This leaves many
children unable to speak it fluently, and in response to these concerns, there is a large private
school sector that has a key selling point of providing bilingual instruction and assures parents
that their children will be fluent in French when they complete their educations. Virtually all
upper-income parents and a number of lower-income parents send their children to private
school (“How Moroccan Mothers and Fathers…”). Gender inequality is still an issue in
Morocco. The Gender Parity Index for gross enrollment rate is 0.89, which shows that the issue
of gender inequality persists at the primary level (Wikipedia- Education in Morocco). Women
are estimated to account for two-thirds of the region’s illiterate adults with the GPI ranking
Moroccan women among those with the highest illiteracy rates in the Arab region (“A Case
Study of Women’s Education Within the Moroccan Development Model”). If these women had
completed their primary education, this statistic would not be so shocking.
High dropout and repetition rates are also a large issue in the Moroccan education
system. Household wealth is an important determinant of a child’s likelihood of attending
school. A 2007-2013 survey that gathered data from 73 developing countries shows that children
in the poorest households were five times as likely not to complete primary school as children in
the richest households. More specifically, 34.4 percent of children in the poorest households did
not complete primary school, compared to 6.5 percent in the richest households. This survey also

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shows that disparities between urban and rural regions are present. The average out-of-school
rate in rural areas was twice as high (16 percent) as the rate in urban areas (8 percent) (“The
Millennium Development Goals Report 2015”). The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) noted that although educational policy efforts had
been made, Morocco continued to encounter obstacles in the areas of universal education, gender
equality, and parity between rural and urban areas. The report emphasized that illiteracy was
higher in rural areas than urban areas, with women representing the majority of this statistic (“A
Case Study of Women’s Education...”). This indicates that women are dropping out of school
and we need to explore the reasoning behind this in order to address the root of the problem.
I found an article to help us do this from the Arab World English Journal titled “The
Causes of Primary School Dropout Among Rural Girls in Morocco: A Case Study of Sidi Smail
District” and it was written in November 2014. The first cause of female primary school dropout
found in this study is financial circumstances. One of the interviewees said, “I needed books,
new clothes, and other things like my peers. My father couldn’t even provide for the necessary
staples like sugar, flour, etc. I thought asking him for new clothes would be an added burden.”
Another one says that her family did not have much money so she wore the same clothes and
shoes most days. Her friends laughed at her and she said, “I couldn’t bear it and decided to leave
school.” Yet another explained that although she wanted to continue her education to the end, but
her parents were so poor and they wanted her to help them by contributing to the family’s
income. The location of schools, especially for families in rural areas, has an influence on girls
dropping out of primary school. Two of the interviewees had to walk one hour to get to school.
They had to wake up early and sometimes arrived late and were punished by their teacher.
Getting to school was very inconvenient and tiring for them, so they dropped out. These long

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walks to school can also be unsafe. One girls’ father hastened her dropout as a result of the fear
that someday a village boy would sexually harass his daughter on her way to or from school.
Sexual harassment at school is another serious problem that drives many girls to dropout.
Brahim, a father of a girl dropout, said that the main reason that pushed him to put an effort to
end his daughter’s education was fear from some young male teachers’ pervert conduct. Next,
many girls drop out so they can have more of a role in household duties such as being caregivers
to siblings or helping with agricultural activities. Yet another reason for primary school dropout
is because of a lack of motivation. Many girls have no educated family members to encourage
them at home and no educated women in their village to serve as role models. One girl states, “If
there was a woman in my village who was a doctor or teacher, I would have been motivated to
continue school and study hard… my parents were also illiterate and showed no interest in my
schooling.” The last reason highlighted in this study for girls’ dropping out of primary school is
early marriage. In Morocco, parents, especially uneducated ones, prefer to have their daughters
get married at an early age, particularly when they are at the height of their beauty. Mohammad,
a teacher at Ben Ajem School, confirmed during an interview that there is a strong connection
between early marriage and girls’ dropping out in the village. He said, “Many girls left my class
once they got engaged. One day I asked ‘where is Fatima?’ and a voice from the back of the
room answered, ‘she got engaged sir, she won’t come to school anymore.’” All of these issues
within the Moroccan education system need to be addressed in order to achieve universal
primary education.
One mechanism that can be used to help achieve universal primary education is the use of
ICTs in the classroom and to spur action. ICTs can include laptops, video capability, mobile
phones, computer labs, and Internet access. In the article titled “The Right to Learn- Community

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Participation in Improving Learning,” Uwezo is discussed. Uwezo is an organization that aims to
draw public attention to educational challenges by researching and reporting on learning levels
of children living in East Africa. The information reported acts as a catalyst to spur citizens to
make an effort to improve the quality of education in local communities. Once Uwezo collects
data, they must share it with the local people. Communication, in simple and accessible formats,
is at the core of all Uwezo activities. They have found that information has to be memorable and
easy to understand. They share their data in meaningful ways, rather than merely producing
technical reports and policy briefs. They use stories, discussions and drama in the languages that
are most familiar and comfortable for audiences to keep them interested. They present their
findings in a variety of formats, but radio has proven to be the most effective means of mass
communication. Uwezo does not offer recommendations or solutions because they believe that it
is best for local people to create their own solutions to local issues. Although Uwezo works in
East Arica, I think that something like this would be very beneficial in Morocco. It would push
them towards achieving universal primary education by making issues more known.
Many of the gaps in education in developing countries, including Morocco, can be
bridged with the help of ICTs. ICTs can be used as a drive for development and change. They
enable teachers to continuously develop their teaching methods, improve the content of their
lessons, and access relevant educational resources more easily and as a result, students are more
engaged and interested in class and are more motivated to attend school and do well in their
studies. ICTs also lessen the burden on teachers by reducing time needed for tedious tasks and
diminishing the isolation factor in schools in rural areas. They motivate teachers by making their
job easier, more enjoyable, and allowing them to be creative with lesson plans. One teacher in
Kenya named Faith Kashu says, “I interact with my students more and they get motivated

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because I bring a variety of teaching methods by using a projector. The students can access the
computer so they get motivated and interested in learning.” She also speaks about how ICTs
connect her classroom with the outside world: “We are in a remote place but the gap between the
outside world and this place is now lesser. I can go to the Internet so students get updates of
what’s happening out there even if they are not there…” Another teacher in Kenya explains the
impact of a gadget called a Projector Pal: “A Projector Pal has attracted and retained students in
schools because it is more interactive and they enjoy learning (“ICT in the Classroom for Quality
Education”). We can see the huge impact that ICTs have on both students and teachers through
these examples. In 2005, only 4.5 percent of Moroccan primary schools were equipped with
computers (“ICT Education in Morocco”). Although the number has risen since then, the country
needs to continue to equip schools with ICTs. If Morocco integrated more use to ICTs into their
schools, the education system would be improved and more students would be likely to complete
primary school.
Morocco has made effort towards reform in the education system within the past couple
of decades. The King announced the period from 1999-2009 as the “education decade,” when it
was established that education and training was of national priority. The government focused on
five key themes that are important for facilitating the role of knowledge in development and for
the effective use of ICTs: education, governance, private sector development, e-commerce, and
access. These themes formed the basis for the national strategy for ICT development and
together were called the e-Maroc plan. In March 2005, the Moroccan government adopted a
strategy with the main objective of making ICT accessible in all public schools. Morocco is fully
committed to eradicating illiteracy and adopted its National Literacy and Non-formal Education
Strategy in 2004.

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Morocco has made many efforts so improve the education system and they have indeed
made improvements. I think that there are still more steps that they could take to further their
progress. Some suggestions include to raise domestic spending on education to 15 to 20 percent
of national budgets while giving priority to basic education, provide children with transportation
to and from school when needed, offer free meals and basic health services at school to improve
children’s health, nutrition and cognitive development, train more teachers and motivate those in
the profession, ensure adequate teaching materials and distribute textbooks free of charge, build
more primary schools in rural areas, implementing penalties against teachers behaving
inappropriately, and making rural parents aware of the importance of women’s education and the
dangers of child marriage. Morocco has made a great deal of progress in the past, and I believe
that if they continue this trend, children in all regions will be able and motivated to complete a
full course of primary education.
Sources
Wikipedia article- “Education in Morocco”
The Girl Effect fact sheet

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Culturegram
“End Poverty 2015- Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education”
2015 Millennium Development Goals Report
“ICT in the Classroom for Quality Education”
International Education- An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues and Systems
HDI Morocco
“How Moroccan Mothers and Fathers View Child Development and Their Role in Their
Children’s Education”
“The Right to Learn- Community Participation in Improving Learning”
“A Case Study of Women’s Education Within the Moroccan Development Model”
“ICT Education in Morocco”
“The Causes of Primary School Dropout Among Rural Girls in Morocco: A Case Study of Sidi
Smail District”