Expanding Early Childhood Education to Generate Over 51,000 New Jobs
A recent government report has quantified the substantial socio-economic benefits of expanding access to early childhood education in Morocco. According to the results-based, gender-sensitive budget report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, universalizing preschool for 4-5 year-olds could create over 51,000 new jobs.
The report estimates that approximately 71% of these new positions, or around 36,800 roles, would be direct jobs in the early education sector. Gender analysis indicates that the majority of these opportunities, close to 46,700 jobs, would employ women, while the number of jobs for men is lower at around 5,200.
In addition to boosting female employment, the report suggests that expanded early education would help alleviate the time women spend on unpaid care work. This could contribute to raising the women's labor force participation rate. On a societal level, scaling up preschool nationally could strengthen women's economic empowerment and reduce gender inequalities through the employment and income generated.
Importantly, preschool has already proven impactful since the 2018 launch of the National Program for Generalizing and Developing Preschool. The pre-primary enrollment rate jumped remarkably from just 42% in 2006-2007 and 45% in 2017-2018 to 76.2% during the 2022-2023 school year. By accounting for both direct and indirect jobs, including many for women, developing early childhood education appears poised to deliver widespread social and economic returns going forward.