Abhatoo - Centre Nationale de Documentation

Morocco has experienced a rapid expansion in the supply of education services over the last two decades resulting in impressive improvements in access to education, enrolment, and attainment.
Between 2000 and 2016, the gross enrolment rate in primary education increased from 85 to 98 percent, in lower secondary education from 60 to 88 percent, and in upper secondary education from 37 to 66 percent. The Government of Morocco (GoM) allocates about 30.4 percent of its total budget and 6.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to education. This is higher than the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) average at 17 percent of budget allocation and 5 percent of GDP.
The two key challenges of Morocco’s education system are low learning outcomes and the large share of 15- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training (NEET). Although the education sector has expanded over the past two decades, this has not resulted in improvements in learning, illustrated by weak results in national and international student learning assessments (TIMSS 2015, PISA 2019, etc.). Recent PISA results show that the performance of 15-year-old students in Morocco is significantly below the participating MENA countries average and represents nearly four years of lost schooling1 compared to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country average. At the same time, 30 percent of 15-year-olds in Morocco are not enrolled in any type of education or training. At the lower secondary education level, there is a 38-point difference in the net enrollment rate between rural and urban areas (37 versus 75 percent in 2017). Furthermore, 28 percent of 15- to 24-year olds are considered to be NEET, and youth unemployment is three times higher than employment for the overall working-age population.
Within this context, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has emerged as an option that could integrate students more quickly into the workforce. The number of students enrolled in TVET in Morocco has almost tripled from 136,132 in 2000 to 462,700 in 2017. Nevertheless, in 2015, TVET’s share of the total enrolment at the upper secondary level was only 13.5 percent. The GoM plans to further expand TVET opportunities for the youth. The National TVET Strategy aims to intensify the cooperation between TVET institutions and employers to determine the skills needed in different geographical areas of the country. The National TVET Strategy also includes the creation of 12 new regional TVET centers to helpl coordinate TVET activities, build collaboration with the private sector, help manage specific regional programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of these measures.
This note (a) presents an overview of Morocco’s TVET system in the context of the larger Moroccan education system, (b) maps the policies and institutions involved in the delivery of TVET, and (c) assesses the design features and implementation challenges that constrain the effective delivery of TVET. The note is based on interviews with clients and stakeholders—including Vocational Training and Occupational Promotion Bureau (Office de la Formation Professionnelle et de la Promotion du Travail, OFPPT), the main provider of TVET in Morocco, and TVET centers—and a review of secondary reports and materials. The note also seeks to identify a few areas where reform efforts could help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of TVET.
The report also identifies a number of areas for further improvements, including (a) expanding the application of competency-based approaches (CBAs) to training, (b) ensuring monitoring and evaluation for evidenced-based decision-making, (c) strengthening the quality framework for TVET, (d) enhancing the role for the private sector, and (e) adopting an ‘all of government’ approach to address these key concerns by involving all critical stakeholders in the process of delivering training.
Since this note was finalized, an unprecedented crisis has substantially disrupted education at all levels. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, educational institutions at all levels in Morocco were closed on March 16, 2020, until further notice. While general K-12 schools remain closed till September 2020, decision regarding colleges and universities are still being taken. The Ministry of Education declared that educational continuity should be maintained through distance education/learning and has taken measures to facilitate continuing education service delivery. However, the degree to which learning can still take place outside the classroom, including in TVET, is often limited by lack of access to electricity, internet connectivity, digital devices, and learning platforms or the inadequate preparation of teachers and students for remote education (Hoftijzer et al. 2020). First simulations on the impact of school closures on learning reveal that learning-adjusted years of schooling are expected to decrease on average by 0.4 years of schooling and the average annual earning per student is expected to decrease by 3.4 percent (Azevedo et al. 2020).
In TVET, with its focus on practical skills and improving work readiness, remote learning is particularly challenging. Since practical skills are often acquired through learning-by-doing approach and rely on specific equipment and laboratories, distance learning is particularly challenging. How are TVET programs and students doing during the COVID-19 crisis? How are countries planning to adapt TVET to what comes next? The World Bank has joined forces with the ILO and UNESCO to collect this information from TVET providers, policy makers, and social partners (Hoftijzer et al. 2020). Survey results were not yet available at the completion of this report.