The World Bank (WB) has approved $250 million in funding for the Morocco Education Support Program, adding to the initial $500 million approved in 2019.
The World Bank (WB) said in a statement that this funding aims to support the Moroccan government in the implementation of an ambitious education reform program.
The World Bank stated that this program focuses on the development of early childhood quality education services, support for primary and secondary teaching practices, and strengthening management capacity and accountability for better learning outcomes.
Since its creation in 2019, the International banking institution stressed that the Education Support Program has contributed to the improvement of early childhood education’s quality, and capacity building of teaching staff, particularly at the regional level, noting that this additional funding aims to achieve further ambitious results, as well as to allow more effective and comprehensive accessibility and resilience of education in the post-COVID-19 world.
This additional funding supports the operationalization of the New Development Model, specifically, the Strategic Education Roadmap led by the Ministry of National Education, Preschool, and Sports. “The roadmap uses a tripartite approach that includes students, teachers, and schools to deliver reforms with a concrete impact on the learning environment, governance, and learning achievements,” stated Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank, Jesko Hentschel.
The World Bank (WB) also indicated that this additional funding will make room for more ambitious goals related to the assessment of learning to achieve better outcomes.
“This program will benefit 100,000 children enrolled in preschool units that will receive a quality label and will develop the professional qualification of the teachers through innovative pedagogical approaches,” stated Senior Education Specialist and Program Co-Leader at the World Bank, Louise Mengue Mvono.
Mengue Mvono explained that 10,000 educators will complete a pre-service preschool training program, another 10,000 will complete an in-service preschool training, and 12,000 new students will enroll in the 1st year of the 3-year specialized Bachelor of Education Specialty Cycle (CLE) program for the 2023/2024 academic year.
According to Bretton Woods institution, the additional funding introduces an Investment Project Financing (IPF) into the program, which will provide technical support to the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports for the implementation of key reforms aimed at improving education outcomes.
“The program’s strategic framework is based on strengthening human capital and supporting sectoral decentralization for clear accountability on results and service delivery,” said the Senior Public Sector Specialist and program Co-Leader at the World Bank, Abel Bove.
The World Bank (WB) further stated that the contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts is among the reforms that the Program will support, noting that the Program will foster a change of mindsets, promote behavioral change, develop skills needed for a green economy transition, and ultimately contribute to people’s resilience to shocks.
