Improving Higher Education System Is Essential Lever for Developing Human Capital – Gov’t Chief

Improving the higher education and scientific research system, based on cross-cutting indicators defined at all levels, represents a major lever for promoting the situation of human capital in all sectors, the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch said on Monday. Speaking at the monthly policy session in the House of Representatives, which focused on the theme of “higher education”, Akhannouch stressed the importance of enhancing human capital, seeing it as an essential challenge to guarantee the success of the Kingdom’s development trajectories, strengthen citizens’ ability to prepare for the future, and enable the country to strengthen its competitiveness. He said that the government was taking a special interest in the Moroccan university, with a view to equipping it to meet the major challenges it faces, including the revision of the organizational, human and managerial aspects associated with it. “The transition to a common future cannot take place in the absence of a solid foundation that ensures the principles of autonomy, equity and innovation, in line with the Royal High Directions aimed at improving the policies and programs adopted and guaranteeing quality service for the benefit of young people,” added the Head of Government. It is this royal vision that determines the government’s roadmap, particularly with regard to the attractiveness of the education system as a central axis in promoting the situation of young people, reducing unemployment and strengthening integration into the job market, he said, in line with the goals of the strategic vision of framework law no. 51.17. He pointed out that national universities are still beset by a number of obstacles, linked above all to the level of profitability and the lack of human resources, not to mention certain strategic and organizational challenges. He said that the drop-out rate from university studies without obtaining a degree in recent years has reached almost 49%, citing an 18.7% increase in the unemployment rate of university graduates in the open access process, compared with 8.5% for regulated or limited access universities, as well as a teaching staffing ratio below internationally recognized indicators, i.e. one teacher for around 120 students in open access faculties.