ESCWA Publication: E/ESCWA/CL2.GPID/2026/Policy brief.9
Country: Kingdom of Morocco
Publication Type: Policy briefs
Cluster: Gender Justice, Population and Inclusive Development
Focus Area: Inclusive development
Initiatives: Reducing inequalities, Including persons with disabilities in the labour market, Realizing the rights of persons with disabilities, Arab-European Research Network on Disability
SDGs: Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Keywords: Digital divide, Educational quality, Educational reform, Equal opportunity, Gender equality, Girls, Inclusive education, Informal sector, Labour market, Literacy, Morocco, Persons with disabilities, Right to education, Rural-urban differentials, Technical cooperation, Unemployment, Youth
From education to employment: improving education quality, expanding access and advancing digitalization in Morocco
October 2026
In recent decades, Morocco has made significant strides in expanding access to education by moving closer to universal primary and preschool education and reducing illiteracy rates, driven by sustained government investment and successive reforms in the education sector. These efforts culminated in the adoption of a 2022–2026 roadmap, which focuses on improving foundational learning, enhancing educational governance, and embedding the principles of equity, inclusion and equal opportunity. Nevertheless, the education system continues to face structural challenges that limit its ability to deliver quality, equitable and inclusive education for all, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The present policy brief concludes that the primary challenge facing Morocco today is no longer limited to expanding access to education; rather, it lies in transforming that access into effective, high-quality learning that fosters skill development, promotes decent employment opportunities, enhances well-being, and facilitates upward social mobility. It highlights that educational inequalities in Morocco are inextricably linked to the broader socioeconomic context. Grounded in a perspective of social justice and multidimensional equity, the policy brief advocates shifting from an approach focused on expanding access to a more inclusive one that places learning quality and equity at the heart of the reform process. It further emphasizes that the success of current reforms, notably the 2022–2026 roadmap, requires accelerating implementation and strengthening integration across educational, social, economic and digital policies. Lastly, the policy brief proposes intensifying efforts to build an education system characterized by quality, equity and inclusivity, while bolstering education’s capacity to support sustainable human development and social mobility, and to uphold the principle of leaving no one behind.
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Inclusive development
In recent decades, Morocco has made significant strides in expanding access to education by moving closer to universal primary and preschool education and reducing illiteracy rates, driven by sustained government investment and successive reforms in the education sector. These efforts culminated in the adoption of a 2022–2026 roadmap, which focuses on improving foundational learning, enhancing educational governance, and embedding the principles of equity, inclusion and equal opportunity. Nevertheless, the education system continues to face structural challenges that limit its ability to deliver quality, equitable and inclusive education for all, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The present policy brief concludes that the primary challenge facing Morocco today is no longer limited to expanding access to education; rather, it lies in transforming that access into effective, high-quality learning that fosters skill development, promotes decent employment opportunities, enhances well-being, and facilitates upward social mobility. It highlights that educational inequalities in Morocco are inextricably linked to the broader socioeconomic context. Grounded in a perspective of social justice and multidimensional equity, the policy brief advocates shifting from an approach focused on expanding access to a more inclusive one that places learning quality and equity at the heart of the reform process. It further emphasizes that the success of current reforms, notably the 2022–2026 roadmap, requires accelerating implementation and strengthening integration across educational, social, economic and digital policies. Lastly, the policy brief proposes intensifying efforts to build an education system characterized by quality, equity and inclusivity, while bolstering education’s capacity to support sustainable human development and social mobility, and to uphold the principle of leaving no one behind.
