90% of teachers are vaccinated in Morocco, says UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said 90% of Moroccan teachers have been vaccinated, topping the list of countries in the MENA region, according to UNESCO’s recent report published this December.

UNESCO believes that the vaccination campaign in Morocco has progressed well, with the priority given to teachers and administrative officials ahead of the school year in September.

UNESCO’s report came as the world celebrates Teachers’ Day on December 5.

UNESCO has ranked Morocco among the best performing countries in the MENA region in terms of vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UN organization underlined the importance of teachers as a pillar of a healthy education system, praising Morocco for its vaccination campaign.

The report also included the level of education of teachers in low- and middle-income countries, with Morocco having the highest educational requirements for teachers.

Moroccan teachers have one of the highest levels of education in Africa and West Asia. However, Morocco lags behind in terms of the duration of teachers’ training, as it is presumed in only one year of compulsory training.

The UN organization also noted that the reopening of schools after the vaccination campaign is expected to push countries to hire more teachers.

In Europe and North America, 13% of countries hired additional teachers, and in Latin America, 48% of countries hired more teachers.

In a survey of 103 countries, 31% said they hired more teachers after schools reopened to deal with the social fallout from the pandemic. However, African countries were the least likely to increase the number of teachers, according to the report.

Recently, the Ministry of National Education adopted more stringent requirements for teaching positions, including setting the age to 30 years or less, effective from next year.

In early December, the Minister of National Education Chakib Benmoussa said graduates of the faculties of education would get preference for employment, he said, further adding that “the decision of setting the age at 30 as the maximum was based on studies confirming that teachers need a sufficient period of time to develop their expertise within the system,” aiming to improve the quality of education in the country.