The World Bank (WB) approved a $300 million Program-for-Results loan to support Morocco’s National Plan for Accelerating Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation Transformation, the financial institution announced on Thursday.
The initiative aims to implement innovative strategies to enhance the impact of higher education and scientific research for the benefit of the Moroccan population.
“Morocco’s New Development Model highlights the importance of investing in higher education and research for the country to achieve low-carbon, sustainable growth, and employment creation,” said Jesko Hentschel, Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank.
The program focuses on improving the relevance of university programs in the labor market, promoting research aligned with international standards and national priorities, and enhancing governance at both central and university levels.
It seeks to address key aspects of sector transformation, train future generations of researchers and professionals, and establish mechanisms for tracking graduate employability.
The program targets certifying over 200,000 students in language or digital skills, increasing student enrollment and graduation in priority degree programs, and enrolling over 4,000 new PhD students in key disciplines by 2029.
It also aims to promote a critical mass of researchers, facilitate research networking, and enhance collaboration at national and international levels.
The program will contribute to improving the targeting of student scholarship programs for greater equity, institutionalizing and monitoring multi-year university development contracts, and building capacity and performance at public universities.