King Mohammed calls for rigor to reform education
Morocco, Education, 9/13/2000

Morocco's King Mohammed VI Tuesday called for a rigorous and mobilization of all to reform the Moroccan education sector in order to honor the 2002 deadline to generalize schooling for children aged 6 years.

"The mobilization that we expect from everybody to get involved in the workshops for the reform of our educational sector, should be organized and managed with rigor, centered on the set objectives and geared towards the priorities," King Mohammed VI said in a message on the occasion of the new school year that started this week in Morocco.

The message, that was read out by Royal advisor Abdelaziz Meziane Belfqih at the Moroccan radio and TV channels, stressed the need to endeavor to meet the deadlines, especially the year 2002, when "each Moroccan child aged 6 should have a seat at a school near his family's residence" and the 2004 deadline to generalize pre-schooling, underlining that the State will concentrate its financial backing in this connection on the rural and semi-rural areas, especially the poor districts.

King Mohammed VI called for granting more importance to the rural world in education matters. "The special conditions of the rural world should be taken into account to grant the country-side the same chances as the urban areas," he said, underlining the importance to observe gender equality in education.

The king also reiterated the keen interest granted to school drop-outs who will benefit from informal education to help them integrate the active life.

The king likewise laid a special emphasis on promoting the quality of education and training, matching Morocco's civilizational heritage with the modern scientific and technological innovations. "We should take into account our country's present and future priorities and needs in cadres and technicians in various fields and sectors in order to gradually curb unemployment among educated persons," he said.

In the same vein, King Mohammed VI stressed will to consolidate the role of Moroccan universities "as an engine of development, observatory of scientific and technical development in the world, a space for searchers and a laboratory of discoveries and innovations."

He called on university executives to restructure these institutions, ensure their sound management and promote the quality of their services in the three coming years.

The king likewise dwelt on the decentralization of education and training part of the national education strategy, devised by a panel of experts to promote the country's educational sector.

"The reform of our educational sector is a great and vital field for our country, starting from our unshakable belief that education is the essential basis for the consecration of social values of moderation (...) and responsible democracy," he said, adding that "education is the best fortress against all forms of extremism and fanaticism."

The king underlined that Morocco will continue to grant paramount importance to the training of human resources, "regardless of the natural resources that God bestowed" on Morocco. "Regardless of the natural resources that God bestowed on this peaceful country and regardless of their contribution to our society's march towards economic and social development, we renew the priority that we grant to the promotion of human resources and their training, being the basis for the continuous construction and for the renaissance to which we all aspire," King Mohammed VI stressed.

The king urged the government, local councils, schools and all the partners involved in education and training to exert utmost efforts during this decade to embark on the reform process with vigilance, earnestness and self-denial.

He also called on enterprises to back the practical side of education through the conclusion of employer-learner conventions to give students chances to undertake training in firms. "we also incite them (enterprises) to encourage and develop their partnership with the authorities in charge of education and training at central, regional and local levels, to facilitate training by alternation and the efficient participation in the promotion of scientific research," he said.

Touching on the situation of teachers, King Mohammed VI recalled the announcement he had made in the Throne Day (July 31) to set up an institution for the backing and promotion of social action for teachers. He underlined that he will see to it that this institution, named Hassan II Institution, see the light of day as soon as possible. The institution will benefit from financial backing, he said, specifying that 2% of the budget earmarked to personnel expenditure, provided for by the appropriation bill for the departments in charge of education and training, will be allotted to the teachers' social welfare institution.

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