According to Ministry of Education figures, some 6.8 million Moroccan pupils will attend school in the 2006-07 academic year, with 402,700 students having joined private schools in the new academic year, compared to 367,000 in the 2005-06 academic year. The schooling rate among children aged between 5 and 6 years will reach 60.4%, while the rate will exceed 91% among 6 year-old children and 93% among children aged between 6 and 11 years. A program dubbed “Génie” (genius), providing educational institutions with Internet-connected multimedia rooms, to span over three years, will also be launched during the 2006-07 academic year.
Education initiatives have been expanded upon so that the new 2006-07 academic year program provides for the creation of 44 new schools, 177 schooling units in rural areas, 83 junior high schools and 32 senior high schools. As part of the social assistance program for needy pupils, 5,698 canteens will be set up for 1,023,000 pupils, including 915,260 in rural areas. Furthermore, initiatives led by Morocco's Minister in charge of Families and Youth, Yasmina Badou, have ensured that children with disabilities will benefit from an additional 7 million dirham ($770,000 US) for educational centers in 2006/07.
Regarding literacy initiatives, Morocco was granted the UNESCO Confucius 2006 prize for its informal education program, a national initiative for the elimination of illiteracy specifically intended for marginalized teenagers living in rural zones. The government’s wider national literacy program draws inspiration from various international recommendations and conferences on the theme of “education for all.” Adding to the importance of the program, the government has established a ministry dedicated to fighting illiteracy and coordinating national efforts in this field, and adopted a strategy that provides the means necessary to implement the program.
Morocco is determined to reduce the rate of illiteracy to less than 20% by 2010, on the prospect of totally eradicating the phenomenon by 2015. A recent report shows the remarkable results obtained during the years 2002 to 2006 – two million people have benefited from the government’s literacy program. Morocco also took part in the first White House conference on the elimination of global illiteracy in New York in September 2006. Representing the ministry in charge of the elimination of illiteracy and informal education, Minister Anis Birou drew the attention of those in charge of stemming illiteracy throughout world to Morocco's successful experience, reiterating its determination to boost literacy, which remains a genuine means of change and propeller of social progress. The Conference presented panels and informal discussion to provide practical information about successful programs that promote literacy as a catalyst to advance social and economic participation, human development and poverty reduction.
