According to a press release from the Washington-based financial institution, the financing aims to help the Moroccan government in the implementation of its ambitious National Plan to accelerate the transformation of the ecosystem of higher education, scientific research and innovation.
The program will advance a series of innovative and transformative approaches to increase the impact of higher education and scientific research, for the benefit of Moroccans, today and in the future.
“Morocco’s new development model highlights the importance of investing in higher education and research for the country to achieve sustainable, low-carbon growth and job creation,” said Jesko. Hentschel, Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank.
He added that “this program aims to improve both the relevance and quality of the public higher education system in Morocco. It will benefit students, teachers and researchers at the country’s public universities.”
The program is designed, the statement added, to improve the relevance of university programs to the labor market, promote scientific research based on international standards and national priorities and strengthen governance at the central and university levels.
According to the World Bank, the program will also contribute to the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring the employability of graduates, the integration of transferable skills into university programs, and the certification of more than 200,000 students. in language or digital skills, and increasing the number of students enrolled and graduating in priority programs meeting the needs of socio-economic sectors by 2029.
The program also aims to recruit more than 4,000 new doctoral students in key disciplines, and a significant mass of researchers in priority sectors, and to facilitate networking and collaboration in the field of research, nationally and internationally.
“The selection of these priority sectors responds to current and future labor demand, nationally and internationally, as well as to the essential skills identified by the New Development Model, particularly for jobs linked to “digital, green and resilient economy,” said Cornelia Jesse, Senior Education Specialist and Program Manager at the World Bank.
She added that global data indicates that university governance is “a key lever for change and represents the determining factor in achieving their goals”.