MEN: Three conventions for the generalization of a quality preschool

Three partnership agreements for the development and generalization of quality preschool were signed on Thursday in Rabat, during a meeting chaired by the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa.

The signing of these agreements, which are part of the continuity of the process of reform of the education and training system, comes in execution of the High Royal Guidelines for the establishment of an efficient, equitable and generalized education system, at the occasion of the kick-off in 2018 of the National Program for the generalization and development of quality preschool under the sign “Our future does not wait”.

It also intervenes within the framework of the operationalization of the New Development Model which calls for a revival of the education system, as well as the implementation of the government program which places education at the center of its priorities and at the heart of the development of the human capital and the consolidation of the pillars of the social state.

The framework agreement, signed by Benmoussa and the President of the Moroccan Foundation for the Promotion of Preschool Education (FMPS), Noureddine Boutayeb, will thus make it possible to improve the quality of preschool education while investing the important experience that the Foundation has accumulated over the years as part of its partnership with the Ministry, which has proven its effectiveness in managing this project in compliance with established requirements and standards.

Under this agreement, the FMPS will be responsible for the direct management of preschool classes and the establishment of an integrated and inclusive system for the training of educators, the strengthening of their professional capacities, the recruitment of qualified profiles and the increase in the time devoted to initial and continuing training, as well as the implementation of a system for evaluating the skills acquired by children and the provision of teaching tools, didactic methods and equipment that take into account the specificities of this type of education.

Mechanisms for financing operations related to the management of pre-school classes will also be put in place under a tripartite agreement signed by Benmoussa, Boutayeb and the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, Faouzi Lakjaa, while the annual needs in terms of qualified educators will be provided under a third agreement signed by Benmoussa, Lakjaa and Boutayeb, the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, and the wali-coordinator National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), Mohamed Dardouri.

These three conventions aim to accelerate the generalization of preschool in rural, semi-urban and urban areas, while guaranteeing its quality, and this through the training of educators, whether initial or continuous, the recruitment of profiles qualified and the accompaniment and the follow-up of the teaching, explained Benmoussa.

For his part, Younes Sekkouri stressed the importance of these agreements which come at a time when preschool has been incubated between the Ministry of National Education and the INDH, adding that his department is now committed to increasing the effort to support and train educators significantly, which went from 200 hours to 400 hours with a larger budget and simplified procedures.

These agreements aim to give the necessary visibility, by defining the framework and the means, by identifying the appropriate approach in order to achieve this generalization together and by drawing inspiration from the model set up by the Foundation and the national coordination of the INDH. in the rural world, which has been functioning perfectly for 4 years, indicated Boutayeb, noting that “the Foundation already manages 12,000 preschool units and we estimate that by 2028 we will be able, with the rest of the actors, to guarantee this generalization with the required quality”.

Dardouri, for his part, affirmed that early childhood and preschool constitute fundamental axes of the third phase of the INDH, launched in 2018, specifying that these agreements aim to strengthen the training of educators who are an essential element in view of to establish a quality preschool.

In a document distributed on this occasion, the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports welcomes the mobilization of partners and various actors for the implementation of the strategic objectives of preschool education and their involvement in this important project. national level, and affirms its commitment to guarantee spatial justice and equal opportunities for all children, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.