Sustainable Development Goal 4

In Morocco, illiteracy is an ongoing problem, revealed to be especially prevalent in girls’ education. In rural areas, more than half of women are illiterate compared to a third of men (Ennaji, 2018). The inability to read or write is an additional detriment to women, as they are already marginalized as women in rural areas. When we look at the relationship between quality of education, and girls’ literacy rates we’ll find that literacy is essential for social mobility, for women to contribute to society, and to become leaders for other young girls. This blog will look at obstacles from the 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG): ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. By looking at primary and secondary education literacy rates, I will examine more specifically SDG target 4.6: ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy, and how quality of girls’ education in Morocco affects girls’ literacy rates.

In rural areas of Morocco, the disparity in girls’ education is due to several reasons including language of instruction, lack of teacher training, and portrayal of negative gender stereotypes in textbooks (Bettach, 2017). When talking about equality in education between boys and girls, we need to consider both access and quality of education. The rural population of girls have minimal access to education because they must consider the cost of distance to attend schools, in addition to the cultural belief that women belong in the house, helping their mothers cook and clean rather than learning in classrooms (Lee, Mouktaoui, & Kim, 2020). Although the Moroccan government has improved on expanding access to education over the years by building more schools, I want to specifically look at the quality of girls’ education. It’s important to go beyond looking at access to education to understand the impact that quality education has on girls’ literacy rates. It’s important to note that the literacy rates “may hide disparities between mountain regions and other regions” (Ibourk, 2018, p. 47). For example, girls’ illiteracy rate in primary education in 2014 was at the highest percentage of the population at 49.9% in the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region, where majority speak Amazigh instead of Arabic (Ibourk, 2018). Language of instruction as a factor of quality education directly impacts girls’ literacy rates.

Standardization of Language of Instruction 

In 1956, Morocco gained independence from France, prompting the Moroccan government to reclaim their national identity by replacing French language with Arabic. Today, Arabization is reflected in the main language of instruction from primary to secondary school. Girls in rural areas, whose mother tongue is typically Amazigh, struggle in school without being able to read, write, or speak in Arabic. Imagine being raised only in Amazigh within the household and local community but taught in Arabic during primary and secondary education. The language of instruction also matters because it gives young girls a sense of identity and belonging. When their native language is being excluded in classrooms compared to their Arabic counterparts, it makes them feel less empowered to communicate.

Teacher Training & Textbooks

In relation to language of instruction, many schoolteachers don’t speak or teach certain subject areas in Amazigh. The students are also impacted by teacher absenteeism, where teachers often quit early-on due to lack of infrastructure and community (Lee et al., 2020). According to

Photo from UNESCO’s Education & Literacy – Literacy Rate in Morocco

UNESCO, literacy rate for youth female from ages 15-24 jumped from 74% (2011) to 87.8% (2012). Around this time, the Moroccan Constitution of 2011 was established, and aimed to enforce equity in education. Around the same time was the implementation of the Najah Emergency Plan, which started in 2009-2012. The emergency plan allowed for the enhancement of teacher training in April 2010 (Oxford Business Group, 2010). The Najah Emergency Plan focused on both on access to education by providing scholarships, boarding schools, transportation by bus in rural areas, and quality of education with teacher training, syllabi, and textbook revisions (Ennaji, 2018).

Textbook revisions were necessary because Moroccan girls studied from books that portrayed stereotypical characters where men dominate society, and women are seen as subordinates. In the study with grade 1 textbooks, there were 24 occurrences of men in leadership positions, as opposed to 1 of women in leadership positions, 80% of text described men with possession of information, with only 20% described as women, and finally 100% of text and illustrations showed men having ownership of property, like in the example above (Bettach, 2017). 

Although Moroccan girls’ literacy rates have been increasing, there is still room for improvement in their quality of education. The relationship between quality education and increasing literacy rates is positive and indicates the need for girls’ education to continue being supported through education reforms, teacher training, curriculum restructuring to identify and eliminate gender bias and empower youth girls, and funding to improve access to education. Textbooks are more than tools for literacy, they reflect the strong potential for women to hold power and status in societies too. Teachers need better training and resources to not only share information, but to ultimately become role models for girls in schools. Policies on national language need to be reexamined to be taught in an environment that promotes research, reserves national identity, and is also inclusive. With these improvements in quality of education, we will be able to see a positive rise in girls’ literacy rates and Moroccan girls as future leaders.

References

Bettach, I. (2017, October). The Moroccan Constitution & Gender Equality: Issues of

Implementation in Education (J. Lobah, Ed.). Trajectories of Change in Post-2011 MENA: Challenges and Prospects, 140-157.

Ennaji, M. (2018, December 10). Morocco’s Experience with Gender Gap Reduction in

Education. Gender and Women’s Studies, 2(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.31532/GendWomensStud.2.1.005

Ibourk, A., & Amaghouss, J. (2018). Quantitative Analysis of the Achievements of the

Moroccan Education System. Current Politics and Economics of Africa, 11(1), 41-70. http://proxy.miis.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/quantitative-analysis-achievements-moroccan/docview/2189948915/se-2?accountid=12457

Lee, Y. J., Mouktaoui, F., & Kim, Y. H. (2020, September 27). Mitigating Gender Gap in Access

to Primary Education in Rural Areas of Morocco. Africa Review, 12(1), 37-50. 10.1080/09744053.2019.1685335

Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24) – Morocco. (n.d.). chart. Retrieved

September 2021, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.FE.ZS?end=2018&locations=MA&start=1982&view=chart.

Oxford Business Group. (2010). System Reform: Further Tools & Funding to Raise Standards.

In Morocco, 2011 (pp. 223–227). report.