In partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Education, UNICEF has launched the fourth phase of its “Child to Child” program, which aims to promote school enrollment and assist children who have dropped-out of schools across Morocco.
“Child to Child” is an educational program designed to promote the enrollment of Moroccan children in the education system and to prevent dropouts.
The program, running to 2030, identifies children who do not attend school and works to reintegrate them into the education system.
“The program aims to identify students who are not in school, and prepare them for re-inscription,” said UNICEF representative Giovanna Barberis.
It includes a “Second Chance” program for children who have already dropped out, supporting them through an educational follow up program, explains the UNICEF press release.
It also aims to sensitize schools, students and families to issues associated with school drop-out, such as exclusion and marginalization.
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“The children, teenagers and young people that leave school fall back into illiteracy. They have no certificates to access professional training and they don’t have the competencies required to participate in society,” Berberis noted.
While most children attend primary school in Morocco, attendance rates drop significantly for high school education.
According to a November 2018 UNICEF report, 99.1% of children aged 6 to 11 attended primary school in 2016/2017. However, overall only 66% of children aged 15 to 17 attended high school. Numbers drop significantly in rural areas, and for girls. Only 69.4% of girls aged 12 to 14 and 32.2% of girls aged 15 to 17 in rural areas attended high school.
“The right to education is fundamental. It is the key to accessing all other rights and breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty,” said Barberis.
The “Child to Child” program is funded in part by the Canadian government.
Phase 4 was launched in a small community school in Mejlaou, one hour south of Tangier, at a meeting attended by government representatives of the National Initiative for Human Development, UNICEF, local education associations and a number of children who have already benefited from the program.
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