A System in Transition: Mapping Morocco’s Education from Preschool to University

Tracing the roots, challenges, and reforms shaping the future of learning

Welcome back to EduWire!

As I mentioned in my editorial, the goal of this newsletter is to map out the key players shaping Morocco’s education system today. This article lays the foundation for upcoming deep dives—by untangling the complex web of stakeholders, reforms, and challenges across the different stages of education in Morocco.

If we want to understand issues like school dropout rates, we need to trace the system’s roots. Morocco’s Net Enrollment Rate for secondary school (middle and high school) remains far below OECD and emerging market peers. Tackling this issue requires more than just building new schools—it means rethinking who does what (central vs. local authorities), and how we teach (curriculum design, teaching methods, and teacher support).

The idea is to suggest a sense of homogeineity and coherence throughout school years, giving purpose to one’s academic path.

Reforms of the 1980s and their impact

The current educational system in Morocco has its roots in the reforms of the 1980s, which had a profound and lasting impact. These reforms were driven by a post-colonial logic, prioritizing national sovereignty and a desire to reclaim control over the education system.

Three major pillars shaped these reforms:

• Massification of Education: The system sought to rapidly increase student enrollment at all levels to respond to demographic shifts and decentralize control. However, this expansion occurred without a parallel focus on quality. As a result, student-teacher ratios deteriorated significantly.

• Arabization of Educational Content: A key reform was shifting the language of instruction in primary and secondary schools from French to Arabic. While intended to promote national identity, this created a linguistic and social barrier: higher education remained predominantly in French, placing students from public schools at a disadvantage, while those from private “mission française” schools, often from wealthier backgrounds, were better prepared for university-level studies.

• Nationalization of Teachers: The replacement of French teachers with Moroccan educators aimed to promote local ownership, but the transition was rushed. Many teachers lacked sufficient training, leading to a decline in teaching quality. Additionally, curriculum changes, such as replacing philosophy and liberal arts with Islamic thought, limited the development of critical thinking skills among students.

These reforms had significant long-term consequences:

• Widening socioeconomic and territorial inequalities, with a stratified education system and high dropout rates in the public sector.

• Labor market mismatches and persistent unemployment, as an oversupply of graduates in fields like social sciences failed to align with market demand.

• A decline in the average years of schooling, with students completing only six years of primary to secondary education on average.

These challenges raise important questions: What do these long-lasting impacts mean for Morocco’s education system today? And how can they inform sustainable, forward-thinking solutions?

Let’s now take a closer look at the key branches of Morocco’s education system, from early childhood to higher education.

🎨 Preschool Education (4–6 years old)

Morocco’s preschool system has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years. Once fragmented and inconsistent, it’s now a national priority, recognizing that early childhood education is critical to long-term learning and reducing dropouts.

Led by the Ministry of National Education, Preschool, and Sports—working with the Ministry of the Interior, INDH, and civil society groups—Morocco has adopted a multi-stakeholder model for reform. A 10-year plan (2018–2028) focusing on three goals:

1. Equitable access

2. Quality standards

3. Sustainable governance

Efforts have particularly targeted rural and peri-urban areas, using positive discrimination policies to close access gaps. Preschool is now compulsory and free in public institutions—a major milestone.

Ambitious targets include:

• 90% enrollment by 2026

• 4,400 new classrooms

• 6,000 new educators

• Nationwide rollout of the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) program, focusing on core skills.

Preschool offerings are diverse, creating both opportunities and challenges for quality consistency:

• Modern bilingual preschools under the Ministry of National Education

• Koranic schools (m'sid and kouttabs) emphasizing religious instruction in rural areas

• Private facilities (crèches)

• NGO and local association establishments

Yet, implementing normative quality standards faces hurdles: educator retention, fragmented training standards, funding sustainability, and governance capacity. The World Bank emphasizes that Morocco’s key challenge lies in monitoring quality, requiring better data systems, observation tools, and support for struggling institutions.

Progress is undeniable: preschool enrollment rose from 49% to 72.5% between 2018 and 2021, the fastest-growing segment in Moroccan education. The Moroccan Preschool Foundation’s (FMPS) “Atlafouna 2030” vision aims for 24,000 new classes and an 83% enrollment rate.

But one question remains: How will Morocco assess whether these reforms actually improve long-term learning outcomes—especially in tackling dropout rates?

📚Primary, Middle, and High School (6–18 years old)

Since 2021, under Minister Chakib Benmoussa, the government has launched bold reforms to put students’ needs at the center. The standout initiative is Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL)—a game-changing approach that teaches students based on what they know, not just their grade level.

Piloted in over 600 schools, reaching 300,000 students, TaRL has delivered promising results: after just two months, proficiency in core subjects multiplied—four times in math, three times in French, and double in Arabic. The plan is to roll this out nationwide by the 2027–2028 school year, a huge step for Moroccan education.

But progress is uneven—and the system’s structural cracks run deep. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 results, Moroccan students consistently score well below global averages in math, reading, and science. Nearly 46% of students have repeated a grade, compared to an OECD average of 9%.

This struggle is amplified by a growing divide between public and private education. As public schools face underfunding, families with means increasingly turn to private institutions. The result? A multi-speed system where access to quality education depends on financial resources. This privatization trend reflects a global shift: education is increasingly treated as a market-driven service, not a universal right, deepening inequalities.

The teacher shortage is another major issue. Since 2016, over 70,000 contract teachers—often hired without adequate training—have been brought in to meet the immediate need for staff. But these teachers lack the job security and benefits of ministry-employed colleagues, leading to widespread protests and strikes. The result? Lost class time, frustrated educators, and students left behind.

A 2023 reform offered some relief—granting civil servant status to certain teachers and improving pensions—but underlying tensions remain.

🎓Higher Education (18+ years old)

The roots of Morocco's higher education system can be traced back to the French protectorate era, which established a dualistic structure segregating students by race, religion, and social status. Post-independence, Morocco sought to democratize education, leading to rapid expansion and Arabization policies such as:

• the change in the content of philosophy and history courses in secondary schools

• the implementation of courses in Islamic thought given by monolingual graduates of original or Islamic studies.

Key milestones like the 1999 National Charter for Education and Training (NCET) and the LMD reform (Licence, Master, Doctorat) sought to modernize the system, but implementation was uneven, due to funding gaps and resistance to change.

The Emergency Program (2009–2012) and Strategic Vision (2015–2030) aimed to improve infrastructure and align education with labor market needs. Yet the system still faces:

• High dropout rates

• A skills mismatch—too many graduates in fields like social sciences, too few in technical tracks

• A divide between open-access universities (overcrowded, under-resourced) and selective institutions (better quality but less accessible)

• The rise of private universities and foreign institutions, which can widen social disparities further.

Recent efforts include the PACTE-ESRI 2030 plan, which promotes foreign language learning, communication, and soft skills to better prepare students for the job market. Yet, continuous monitoring is necessary to enhance the quality and effectiveness of higher education in Morocco.

What’s Next?

Understanding Morocco’s education system is about more than tracing policies and statistics. It’s about unraveling the deep structural forces that shape students’ lives from preschool through university.

In the coming weeks, we’ll explore each stage in more detail: the people, the policies, and the pathways forward.

Thanks for reading, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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Sources

• Fz, J., & Haoucha, M. (2025). Navigating Morocco’s Public Higher Education Landscape: Characteristics, Endeavors & Setbacks. African Scientific Journal, 3(28), 452–474.

• Mansouri, Z. (2023). Moroccan University Education: A History of a Failing Dualistic System. The Journal of Quality in Education (JoQiE), 13(22).

• OECD. (2023). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I & II) – Country Note: Morocco. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2022-results-volume-i-and-ii-country-notes_ed6fbcc5-en/morocco_10dfcb74-en.html

• Privatisation of Education in Morocco: A Multi-Speed Education System and a Polarised Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://irispublishers.com/ijer/fulltext/education-in-morocco-high-territorial.ID.000590.php

• UNESCO. (n.d.). Advancing Preschool Education in Morocco: Goals, Inclusion, Quality, and Sustainable Governance. Retrieved from https://www.unesco.org/en/early-childhood-education/advancing-preschool-education-morocco-goals-inclusion-quality-and-sustainable-governance

• World Bank. (2021, May). Morocco’s Experience Ensuring Quality Preschool Education. World Bank Blogs. Retrieved from https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/education/moroccos-experience-ensuring-quality-preschool-education

• International Monetary Fund. (2022). Chapter 11: Education in the Middle East and North Africa: The Path to Inclusion. In Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia. Retrieved from https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9798400225406/CH011.xml

• EU-JER. (n.d.). Science Awareness: Analysis of Moroccan Curriculum Framework for Preschool Education. European Journal of Educational Research. Retrieved from https://www.eu-jer.com/science-awareness-analysis-of-moroccan-curriculum-framework-for-preschool-education