Morocco’s Education Ministry has allocated funding and resources for 60,000 reading corners in 2024, including 25,000 in pioneer schools, each with an initial allocation of 50 books in Arabic and French, including stories, albums, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and comic books.
Minister of National Education, Preschool, and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa, visited Hay Essalam School in Salé on Tuesday to support and oversee the equipping of reading corners in all elementary school classes throughout the Kingdom.
The ministry said in a press release that this initial allocation can be further enriched through the voluntary contribution of families, associations, and partners.
The initiative will enable elementary school students to access a classroom library with a support program to make reading a daily reality in students’ lives, both in the classroom and during extracurricular time.
It also emphasizes the importance of reading in improving children’s learning, one of the three strategic objectives of the 2022-2026 roadmap for a quality public school for all, according to the release.
The ministry noted that in all primary schools, these books will be used in widespread reading rituals at the beginning of the year.
Since the 2023-2024 school year, initial results in pioneer schools have shown that focusing on fundamental learning has strengthened students’ reading skills in decoding, fluency, and comprehension.
The ministry also introduced a new playful program entitled “The Champions Challenge: I will read 20 books per year.” As part of this new program, the teacher assigns a book to the student every week to read at school or home.
Management of the classroom library will be based on a charter that involves students and contributes to the development of cooperative and social/civic behaviors.
A reading log will be available to allow students to share their reading experiences through written and graphical productions. Presentations and discussions in class are planned to stimulate the exchange of ideas and opinions.
Student feedback will be systematically taken into account in selecting the books to be acquired for future reading corners.
One of the key success factors of this initiative will be the involvement of parents, who will be responsible for ensuring the proper use of the books.
In pioneer schools, books are currently being distributed to students so they can read them during the upcoming holidays starting on April 26, the press release added.