Combating Illiteracy in Morocco: A Challenging Path

On Wednesday, Mrs. Zineb El Adaoui, President of the Supreme Court of Accounts, addressed the Parliament, emphasizing that the strategic plans and programs to combat illiteracy have yet to yield the desired impact.

Mrs. El Adaoui reported that the results achieved are « unsatisfactory, » despite the deployment of various strategies and a total budget of nearly 3 billion dirhams allocated to the National Agency for Combating Illiteracy between 2015 and 2023. By 2024, illiteracy rates for those over 15 years old remain high at 27.9%, affecting over 7.4 million individuals, compared to 47.7% two decades ago.

She stressed the importance of adopting innovative and efficient measures, such as establishing program contracts between the state and the agency, with clear objectives, timelines, and robust monitoring mechanisms.

The National Agency collaborates with civil society organizations, but these partnerships have shortcomings. The lack of a classification system for specialized associations hinders performance assessment and decision-making. Additionally, many training venues proposed by these organizations fail to meet necessary standards, affecting the quality of education.

The report also highlights low attendance and discipline among beneficiaries. From 2019 to 2022, the average attendance rate was 40%, with a discipline rate of just 43%, thereby limiting the impact of literacy efforts.

The Supreme Court of Accounts recommends improving program efficiency by selecting competent organizations with the necessary resources and strengthening standards to ensure high-quality training.