WB approves US$ 80 million loan to support Morocco's Basic Education Reform
The World Bank's Board of Directors approved on Tuesday a US$ 80 million loan to support a Basic Education Reform Support Program, also known as PARSEM, in Morocco.
PARSEM aims to increase access to basic education, improving educational quality, encourage stakeholder participation, ensure financial sustainability, and promote accountability in sector management.
Despite the economic difficulties, resulting from drought in the late 1990s, Morocco achieved remarkable progress in developing its education system. Education was extended to almost all children at the primary level. The national enrollment rate for primary education increased from 52% during the 1990-1991 school year to 92% during the 2003-2004 school year. Enrollment in the middle school level increased from 18% to 32%, and in secondary education from 6% to 15% over the same period.
The formal education system in Morocco, however, faces many challenges today. Internal inefficiency is high, as evidenced by high drop-out and repetition rates. Gender and geographical disparities still exist at all education levels. Morocco also faces a rapidly increasing demand for middle schools, as a result of increased access to primary education.
With government spending on education already high at 6.6% of GDP, opportunities to expand the budget are limited.
PARSEM addresses these challenges by supporting government efforts to boost the quality of basic education for all children aged 6-14 in a financially sustainable manner. PARSEM pursues three goals: generalize access to basic education, to most school-age children by 2008; improve the quality of education through reducing dropout and repetition rates and improving students learning; and build institutional capacity, reinforcing institutional capacity in association with the sector's decentralization process at the central, regional, provincial and local levels.
The project falls in line with the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Morocco which spells out education sector reform and decentralization as one of the key priorities for fighting poverty in the Kingdom.
