Morocco launches nationwide audit of school boarding facilities

Morocco’s Ministry of National Education, Preschool Education and Sports has begun inspection visits as part of a nationwide audit of boarding facilities in schools.

The visits are expected to cover all Regional Academies of Education and Training, a Hespress AR source within the ministry said.

“The audit has already begun. Inspection committees from the ministry’s General Inspectorate have started visits to boarding facilities in schools within the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Regional Academy as an initial phase, to be extended later to the rest of the academies,” the source said.

The audit’s primary objective is to identify ways to improve accommodation and catering services in Morocco’s boarding schools.

Acting Inspector General for the National Education Sector Houssain Kdad contacted the academy’s director, Mohamed Awaj, regarding the “audit mission for boarding facility management,” informing him that two committees will visit a number of boarding facilities in the academy, in line with the minister’s instructions and the inspectorate’s annual work program.

Education Minister Mohamed Saad Berrada had previously presented to members of parliament the results of temporary audit visits to school canteens.

Batoul Abladi, head of the mission, confirmed that teams had completed field visits to educational institutions in three regional academies.

Speaking to Hespress, Abladi said the visits primarily targeted canteens and boarding facilities in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra Regional Academy, as well as in the provincial directorates of Nador and Midelt.

“We have almost finished. We are now discussing the report before submitting it to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” she said.

Official ministry data at the start of the school year showed that 80,245 pupils benefit from school canteens—a 3% increase—while 216,959 benefit from boarding accommodation, which also includes catering services.