CARE Maroc reports 41,761 students reached through Miftah Anajah education program

Monday 05 - 20:50

A 39-month education initiative led by CARE Maroc has concluded with more than 41,000 students benefiting from measures designed to improve learning conditions, strengthen inclusion and encourage greater involvement by families in school life.

The organisation presented the results of Miftah Anajah on Friday, September 25, in Rabat, highlighting an approach that placed schools, teachers, parents and local organisations at the centre of educational development.

Launched in May 2023 with support from the European Union, the programme reached 41,761 students across the Marrakech-Safi and Béni Mellal-Khénifra regions. Its activities were implemented in partnership with the Fédération Nationale des Associations des Parents d’Élèves au Maroc (FNAPEM) and the Rabat Social Studies Institute (RSSI).

Local initiatives at the heart of the programme

Rather than relying solely on centrally designed interventions, Miftah Anajah gave participating schools greater scope to identify their own priorities and develop responses suited to their specific circumstances.

A total of 19 educational and pedagogical projects received funding amounting to 1.65 million Moroccan dirhams. The initiatives addressed issues including school retention, student well-being, inclusion and stronger support for families.

The programme was implemented in coordination with the Regional Academies of Education and Training (AREFs) of Marrakech-Safi and Béni Mellal-Khénifra, with support from the provincial education directorates of Marrakech and Khénifra.

The initiative forms part of the Programme intégré d’appui à l’éducation et à la formation (PIAFE), established within the Morocco-European Union partnership. Its broader objective is to identify and promote approaches that can contribute to stronger education and vocational training systems while increasing cooperation between public institutions and civil society.

Teachers and parents brought into the equation

Training was another major component of the programme. According to CARE Maroc, 620 teachers received support aimed at strengthening their professional capacities and their ability to contribute to school-based projects.

The initiative also sought to give families a more active role in education. 354 mothers were accompanied through activities intended to strengthen their leadership and participation in school life.

The project mobilised 36 associations representing mothers, fathers and student guardians, alongside 51 associations supporting schools, while 30 multi-stakeholder coordination spaces were established within participating institutions.

For CARE Maroc, these figures reflect a broader shift toward treating the school as a shared community space rather than an institution operating independently of families and its surrounding environment.

From pilot initiatives to transferable practices

One of the programme's lasting objectives was to ensure that successful experiments could be documented and potentially replicated elsewhere.

CARE Maroc said 17 good practices were identified, tested and documented during the project. The closing seminar in Rabat provided an opportunity to present these experiences to representatives of the education sector and discuss how they could inform future initiatives.

The programme also established 30 Menassates Anajah Tarbaoui (MAT). These coordination platforms bring together different stakeholders involved in developing and implementing educational projects, providing a mechanism through which schools can continue collaborative work after the programme's formal completion.

Keeping communities involved beyond the project

The closing event brought together representatives of Morocco's Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, the European Union, the regional education academies, partner organisations and field-level stakeholders.

The discussions focused not only on the achievements recorded during the programme, but also on how communities can preserve and adapt the approaches developed through Miftah Anajah.

CARE Maroc Director Hlima Razkaoui stressed the importance of trust between schools, families and local stakeholders in building sustainable educational outcomes. The programme, she said, demonstrated how parent associations, education teams and community actors can work together to develop solutions based on needs identified locally.

The experience of Miftah Anajah ultimately points to a broader challenge for Morocco's education system: ensuring that successful local initiatives do not remain isolated experiments, but become part of a longer-term culture of cooperation, inclusion and shared responsibility.