Thousands of Moroccan children will help officials conduct a census of un-enrolled youngsters in a new push to encourage education.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 31/03/10
Morocco plans to train schoolchildren to help lure other youngsters into the classroom under a government initiative aimed at boosting enrollment rates.
Some 500,000 schoolchildren will be trained to take part in the "Child for Child" census-taking program that the Department of Education launched on Thursday (March 25th). Students aged 6-15 will work with teachers and officials in April and May to encourage youth who are not enrolled in school to return to their studies.
The aim is to survey and interact on a case-by-case basis with some 800,000 children who either never enrolled in school or dropped out. Education officials hope the program will bring 30,000 potential students into the system, after providing them with intensive catch-up lessons.
The program will also try to place another 45,000 children who never enrolled in school into "second-chance schools", which will tackle child illiteracy and provide job training.
Participation in the program will instill the values of citizenship in children, said Secretary of State for School Education Latifa Abida. The program will also work to mobilize children against the marginalization of less fortunate groups.
The "Child for Child" initiative will involve 7,000 primary schools and 1,500 secondary schools throughout Morocco. Of the 500,000 students working on the project, 50,000 will personally help interview and conduct exercises with out-of-school children. These students will be chosen for their motivation in school and devotion to the project, as well as their proximity to the douars and shantytowns which hold the greatest number of non-enrolled children.
"The operation is intended to raise the awareness of teachers, social stakeholders, pupils and families with regard to school enrollment and school abandonment at primary and secondary levels, with a view to finding local responses to the phenomenon," said the secretary general of the Department of School Education, Youssef Belqasmi.
By conducting case-by-case interviews of children who either dropped out of school or never registered, Moroccan authorities hope to learn the reasons behind the low school enrollment rate. To accomplish this task, every child will be interviewed and given a questionnaire asking what led them to leave the classroom.
Previous research shows that popular reasons for avoiding school include the absence of parents or guardians; parents' inability to afford enrollment and school supplies; obligations to do housework or work outside the home; entering a marriageable age; and fear of being treated badly by teachers.
Potential solutions to the issue of low enrollment may include raising awareness among parents of the importance of education, making school schedules more flexible, providing meals for students and offering transport to school.
Schoolchildren contacted by Magharebia expressed enthusiasm about their role in the new program. Hajjer, 12, said she was already preparing to do her part to encourage other children to enroll.
"There are a lot of children who hang around near our school without being enrolled," she said. "I'd really like to help them get into school and find out why they dropped out."
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/31/feature-03.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 31/03/10
Morocco plans to train schoolchildren to help lure other youngsters into the classroom under a government initiative aimed at boosting enrollment rates.
Some 500,000 schoolchildren will be trained to take part in the "Child for Child" census-taking program that the Department of Education launched on Thursday (March 25th). Students aged 6-15 will work with teachers and officials in April and May to encourage youth who are not enrolled in school to return to their studies.
The aim is to survey and interact on a case-by-case basis with some 800,000 children who either never enrolled in school or dropped out. Education officials hope the program will bring 30,000 potential students into the system, after providing them with intensive catch-up lessons.
The program will also try to place another 45,000 children who never enrolled in school into "second-chance schools", which will tackle child illiteracy and provide job training.
Participation in the program will instill the values of citizenship in children, said Secretary of State for School Education Latifa Abida. The program will also work to mobilize children against the marginalization of less fortunate groups.
The "Child for Child" initiative will involve 7,000 primary schools and 1,500 secondary schools throughout Morocco. Of the 500,000 students working on the project, 50,000 will personally help interview and conduct exercises with out-of-school children. These students will be chosen for their motivation in school and devotion to the project, as well as their proximity to the douars and shantytowns which hold the greatest number of non-enrolled children.
"The operation is intended to raise the awareness of teachers, social stakeholders, pupils and families with regard to school enrollment and school abandonment at primary and secondary levels, with a view to finding local responses to the phenomenon," said the secretary general of the Department of School Education, Youssef Belqasmi.
By conducting case-by-case interviews of children who either dropped out of school or never registered, Moroccan authorities hope to learn the reasons behind the low school enrollment rate. To accomplish this task, every child will be interviewed and given a questionnaire asking what led them to leave the classroom.
Previous research shows that popular reasons for avoiding school include the absence of parents or guardians; parents' inability to afford enrollment and school supplies; obligations to do housework or work outside the home; entering a marriageable age; and fear of being treated badly by teachers.
Potential solutions to the issue of low enrollment may include raising awareness among parents of the importance of education, making school schedules more flexible, providing meals for students and offering transport to school.
Schoolchildren contacted by Magharebia expressed enthusiasm about their role in the new program. Hajjer, 12, said she was already preparing to do her part to encourage other children to enroll.
"There are a lot of children who hang around near our school without being enrolled," she said. "I'd really like to help them get into school and find out why they dropped out."
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/31/feature-03.
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