Heba Press – Rabat
Mohamed Saad Berrada, Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sports, along with Mark Vincent, UNICEF Representative in Morocco, participated in the opening of the Second International Conference on South-South Cooperation on Early Childhood Development, organized by the Ministry in partnership with UNICEF in Morocco, during the period extending from January 22 to 24, 2025 in Rabat, where the work of this conference will revolve around the theme “For quality early childhood education in Africa,” and it will be known for the participation of representatives from ministries Education from various African countries and experts in this field from Africa, Asia, America and Europe.
In a speech on this occasion, the Minister stressed the importance that the Ministry attaches to primary education, as it works to disseminate it according to the required quality standards, noting that investing in early childhood is an investment in the future of nations and the African continent in particular. He also highlighted the central place that primary education occupies within the programs for implementing the educational reform map 2022-2026, as a strategic lever for improving the quality of education and ensuring that female and male students are able to acquire basic learning.
For his part, Mark Vincent, UNICEF Representative in Morocco, pointed out that “South-South cooperation is an effective mechanism that supports the development of early childhood education, and should be adopted to enhance commitment and investment in this field.”
Besides both financing and governance, issues related to tracking and evaluating the quality of learning, mechanisms to ensure the quality of early childhood education and equity-related measures are also key areas that can be strengthened and supported through collective mobilization and coordinated and planned actions by countries.”
This conference comes to confirm the findings of social and economic studies, which concluded that early childhood plays a pivotal role in achieving sustainable development, and that investing at this stage is the best way to break the cycle of poverty and promote sustainable development for equitable and prosperous societies.
-From this standpoint, investing in early childhood development and enhancing the quality of its education is a powerful tool for achieving equality and an effective means of accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals.
It is worth noting that the African continent has witnessed, in recent years, a dynamic of mobilization and commitment in the field of early childhood development. Based on the 2063 Agenda “The Africa We Want” and through the Continental Strategy for Education in Africa, early childhood is a recognized central priority in order to bring about the desired transformation on the continent. And ensuring its sustainable development.
In this context, in 2016, Morocco witnessed the holding of the first South-South Cooperation Conference on Early Childhood Development, which culminated in the issuance of the “Rabat Declaration,” a joint commitment that contributed to strengthening cooperation between African countries to support early childhood.
Despite the efforts made, universalizing quality and comprehensive primary education in Africa still faces major challenges that require greater mobilization, commitment and enhanced investments. Data indicate that only 27% of children in Africa benefit from primary education, while 9 out of 10 children cannot read text. Simple at the age of ten.
From this perspective, the Second International Conference on Early Childhood Education aims to discuss several main axes related to planning, governance, management and financing in the field of primary education in Africa by analyzing its services and their implications for pedagogy and the formation and qualification of frameworks working in the field of early childhood.
