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.

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 aimsto 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.

The core of the project is Developing Training of Trainer program for 3 majors, renovating of the existing workshop facilities, and formulating a masterplan on establishment of the Hub-center.