French AFD contributes €134.7 million to Morocco’s education system reform

The French Development Agency (AFD) will contribute €134.7 million to the public policy budget and the support program of the 2022-2026 roadmap for the reform of Morocco’s national education system.

The related loan protocol and financing agreement were signed in Rabat this Monday by Minister in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, and the French Development Agency (AFD), represented by Ambassador to Morocco Christophe Lecourtier and the AFD Director in Rabat, Quiterie Pincent.

The loan protocol covers public policy budget funding with €130 million, while the agreement relates to a grant of €4.7 million destined to mobilize technical support for the implementation of reforms and pilot schemes planned under the 2022-2026 roadmap.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Minister of National Education, Chakib Benmoussa, explained that the funding is destined to junior schools, with the aim of reducing school dropout rates, mainly through academic, educational, and social support, as well as through improving language skills, particularly in French, with the support of AFD.

Technical support will reinforce the implementation of the roadmap, and back a number of other reforms, with pioneering schools being particularly targeted for the start of the school year, he explained.

The pioneering school project, with its multiple dimensions and founding principles, occupies a central place within the framework of this reform.

Lecourtier highlighted the strategic positioning of education system reform within the new development model adopted by Morocco, and underlined the priority given to this issue in both Morocco and France.

He pointed out that the financing agreement designed to support the central objectives of the reform of the education system in Morocco also offers an opportunity for France to learn lessons that could enrich its own reforms, particularly in the face of challenges such as the falling level of mathematics, school drop-out, and difficulties of access to languages.