Morocco made history today by becoming the first African team to ever advance to the semi finals in the FIFA World Cup. Morocco is a country rich with culture, tourism, and known for its cuisine – but what is their education like? 

According to Brittanica, “Morocco allocates approximately one-fifth of its budget to education. Much of this is spent on building schools to accommodate the rapidly growing population. Education is mandatory for children between the ages of 6 and 15 years.” Education during those primary years is also free. Despite it being mandatory, statistics show that in particularly rural areas, girls fail to attend school and if they do, they rarely make it to the secondary education level.

“Slightly more than half of the children go on to secondary education, including trade and technical schools. Of these, few seek higher education. Poor school attendance, particularly in rural areas, has meant a low rate of literacy, which is about two-fifths of the population.”

Morocco has close to 50 universities and institutions of higher education and has been ranked as one of the Best Global Universities by US News & World Report. “Studying in Morocco will give you a front-row seat to the country’s culture and educational system.” Sciences are among the most popular subject areas, with Computer Science, Engineering, Chemistry, and Clinical Medicine at the top. Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane is an English-speaking university that has a partnership with the United States.

Adult literacy is around 74% which is a large jump since Morocco gained its independence from France in the 1950s and the country is working on bettering its access to education as a whole, but specifically addressing the more rural areas, according to the International Trade Association. “The Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) has a national strategy in place to prioritize efforts that will improve the quality of education, bolster scientific research, foster competitiveness in the global economy and improve governance over the national educational system.”