Morocco displays a significant educational gap, manifesting itself between children from well-off socio-economic backgrounds and those from poor households, as well as between rural and urban areas, revealed the Policy Brief prepared by the Economic Commission and Social Affairs for Western Asia (ESCWA).
The Policy Brief entitled “Education in Arab countries: Closing the gaps so that no child is left behind” highlights three major obstacles hindering access to universal education in Arab countries, including the mitigation of he educational gap between children from affluent and disadvantaged backgrounds, between rural and urban areas, as well as between girls and boys in terms of attendance, completion and school enrollment rates.
According to the document, a major gap in education, both on the global stage and in the Arab sphere, lies in inequalities in access to education between children from contrasting economic backgrounds, measured by income, consumption or wealth. This gap is explained by a series of complex and overlapping socio-economic factors, such as glaring disparities in access to essential resources (quality educational establishments, educational materials, and environments conducive to learning), the deficit of Adequate infrastructure in rural areas and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, as well as negative coping strategies that can discourage children from attending school.
These combined elements create a cycle of disadvantage, perpetuating poverty across generations and amplifying inequalities in access to opportunities for socio-economic advancement.
In 2020, five Arab countries showed a gap exceeding 10% in the net primary school attendance rate between children from the wealthiest households and those from the poorest households. The largest disparities were observed in Sudan (46%), Yemen (34%), Comoros (23%), Morocco (20%) and Iraq (19%).
In addition, the report highlighted a marked gap in the primary school enrollment rate between children from economically disadvantaged families and those from wealthy households in Morocco, amounting to 77% and 97% respectively, thus denoting a difference of 20 percentage points.
On the other hand, the same source revealed a notable disparity between urban and rural populations in Morocco regarding access to primary education. Thus, the school attendance rate for children in rural areas is 83%, while it rises to 96% for their counterparts in urban areas, reflecting a difference of 13 percentage points between the two groups.
Furthermore, the Policy Brief also welcomed the considerable progress made by Morocco to reduce the gender gap in the educational field. Thanks to initiatives aimed at strengthening girls’ access to education, their enrollment rate increased by 28% between 1999 and 2013.
The UN agency thus clarified that investment in education transcends simple budgetary allocation and embodies a strategy with significant repercussions, manifested by the improvement in the scores and rankings of nations having succeeded in reducing their educational disparities on the developmental indices.
She stressed that Arab countries are called to close the educational gaps between rich and poor, urban and rural, and between boys and girls, drawing on the positive experiences of other nations globally and regionally. These investments in access to education will generate a multiplier effect on the positioning of countries in various development indices, while supporting governments in their efforts to strengthen social cohesion, promote equality, including equality of gender, lay the foundations for sustainable development and ensure that no child is left behind.
