A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POLICIES TO FIGHT ILLITERACY AND SCHOOL DROPOUT IN RURAL MOROCCO

Youssef Nait Belaid Research Scholar, Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE), Mohammed V University, Rabat-Morocco. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 10 June 2021 Final Accepted: 14 July 2021 Published: August 2021

The majority of previous researches which has focused on the phenomena of illiteracy and dropping out of school in Morocco has been conducted separately (B.Elharraki and MB Bernouss, 2019; Cerbelle, 2013; Chedati, 2004;Gouzi & Aoufi, 2006;Oujour, 2019). In addition, very few researchers have analyzed these phenomena in a rural context and from an educational policy perspective, so that decision-makers consider the lessons to be learned.
In this article, we intend to analyze the limits of complementarities in the implementation of policies to fight against illiteracy and school dropout in rural Morocco. The main questions of this research are as follows: Have the reforms and measures put in place succeeded in reducing the significant gaps in illiteracy, in terms of gender, place of residence and age?
How to ensure greater synergy between literacy and school dropout programs, social development projects, and the real needs of beneficiaries in rural Morocco?
How can more principles of effectiveness, efficiency and a culture of results be integrated into the planning and implementation of public education and training policies?
For this reason, we will divide this article into three significant sections. First, we will clarify, from a theoretical point of view, the different relationships between illiteracy and school dropout in rural areas.
Second, we will describe and analyze the evolution of policies to fight illiteracy and school dropout in Morocco, in terms of objectives and achievements.
Finally, we will highlight the limits of policies to fight illiteracy and school dropout in rural areas in Morocco, and make proposals to remedy the current situation.

Illiteracy, School Dropout And Rural Areas: Understanding Links And Relationships
Development theories assert that education is a powerful instrument of economic, social and cultural change. This is evidenced by the vicious circle of poverty in many countries, which prevents them from bridging the gap with developed countries, in terms of educational development. Consequently, low educational development does not allow them to improve their economic situation.
In addition, inequalities are increasingly strong and visible between the richest and poorest households, between educated urban populations and rural populations which are lagging far behind in education (Atchoarena & Gasperini, 2003). The main objective of this first section is to explain the close links between illiteracy, school dropout in rural areas. It should be noted that the three concepts are characterized by their evolving aspect and the diversity of their meanings. So, we will start with the concept of rurality; because we believe that illiteracy and school dropout issues take on a particular resonance in rural context.
Indeed, the concept of rurality covers different geographical, economic and social realities. But what makes a place rural? It might be populations living in areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants on average and the presence of farms, bodies of water, mountains, and forests (FAO, 2018;OECD, 1996;United Nations, 2007). 256 Otherwise, "rural" and "rurality" are a theoretical and operational construct proposed and developed in a wide range of disciplines (rural sociology, economics, rural geography, demography, ethnology ...) and theories (socio-cultural theories, social constructivist theories…).
Nonetheless, from a sociological perspective, conceptual clarity is essential to better understand educational issues. Many definitions can be categorized as descriptive (Larrubia, 1998;Mathieu, 1990) or socio-cultural (Bonnamour, 1973;Parain, 1970) based on dichotomous distinctions between rural and urban (Nelson et al., 2021). They present the rural as everything that is not urban (Cloke, 2009;Jean & Périgord, 2009). In this instance, "rural" is defined negatively in the sense of not being "urban". Thus, compared to urban areas, rural realities are less heterogeneous, with little division of labour. In addition, there is no real mobility, because employment models do not undergo many changes, and human relationships are less individualistic and less controlled (Whitaker, 1983).
Furthermore, urban and rural domains have been distinguished solely by physical criteria, and some distinctions have been perpetuated by early studies in rural sociology (Bibby & Brindley, 2013). Therefore, by exaggerating the contrasts and distinctiveness between urban and rural spaces and populations, these definitions obscure the complexity of the links between the two domains (Woods & Heley, 2017) .
From the perspective of developing countries, the concepts of rurality and development have been combined to give rise to rural development, which is the set of initiatives and programs aimed at improving the standard of living of the inhabitants of rural areas. Moreover, rural development has been changing considerably due to variety of development approaches, which we can summarize as follows:

Period
Ideas, themes, paradigms, approaches, and goals of rural development

1960-1970
Transformation approach, technology transfers, mechanization, agricultural extension. Role of agriculture in growth, green revolution, rational farmers, farming systems research.

1970-1980
Redistribution of growth, basic needs, integrated rural development, state policies in the agricultural sector, incentives for innovation, green revolution, development of rural links, increased research on farming systems.

1980-1990
Structural adjustment, market liberalization, state withdrawal, increased role of NGOs, rapid rural appraisal, food security and famine analysis, rural development as a process and not as a product, women in development (WID), poverty reduction, management of territories.

1990-2000
Micro credits, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), rural development centered around local actors, analysis centered on stakeholders, social protection mechanisms in rural areas, gender parity and development (GAD), environment and sustainable development, poverty reduction, rural and territorial development.

2000-2030
Millennium goals, sustainable livelihoods approaches, good governance, decentralization, sector wide approaches, social protection and poverty eradication, sustainable development goals In recent years, development of rural areas has been associated with the role of territories in global society. Thus, territorial development encompasses all aspects of human activities, including economic, social, political, educational, institutional, and governmental that take place in the rural area. It is clear that the vision of rural areas is becoming more comprehensive, (Zadawa & Omran, 2019), as the design of effective policies requires a good knowledge of rural populations, in terms of economic growth, infrastructure, education and environment (FAO, 2018).
Since the majority of the world's poor, illiterate, and undernourished live in rural areas, education occupies a prominent place in the international development discourse. According to Henaff (2006), it is becoming an instrument in growth, development, and poverty reduction policies to ensure access to quality education for rural populations in the South.
Thus, education in rural areas is characterized by an infinite number of socio-economic and cultural handicaps (stigmatization of the territory, population poverty, State ""disengagement"", deficiencies in student learning, deficit in the recruitment and training of teachers, etc.).

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Above all, adult illiteracy and school dropout among children and young people are major blocks to rural development.
It must be acknowledged that literacy is one of the concepts that is constantly evolving due to the various social science debates that surround it. Early definitions made by politicians, academics, or policy-makers emphasize the ability to read and write at an appropriate level (Mace, 1992), However, in addition to the simplicity of these definitions, there has been no general agreement clearly defining the nature of the appropriate level (Reese, E., & Cox, 1999).
In order to have particular relevance to literacy statements, the conceptual and operational use of this concept has given rise to deeper and more varied definitions. Some scholars have noted distinctions between three types of definitions: stipulative, essentialist and prescriptive (Roberts, 2005).
It is not the purpose of this article to engage in detail with the diverse meanings and uses of literacy and its corollary illiteracy. In simple terms, literacy can be defined as the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute through a variety of media, using print or digital written materials associated with variable context (Freebody, 2007;OECD, 2003;UNESCO, 2006). Developed by international organizations, this definition has also been taken up by scholars, and widely shared by recent and ongoing theoretical and empirical studies in the humanities and social sciences. It includes simple, functional and digital literacy. It also presents literacy as a learning process, and crucial practice for economic, social, and political participation and development, especially in today's knowledge societies.
When examining the links between illiteracy and school dropout, it is important to recognize and take into account the different meanings and concepts attached to dropping out, because dropping out of school, early leaving school or school failures sometimes overlap in the same context.
Although schools in rural areas have an important role to play in fostering academic achievement, the high dropout rate is seen as social and institutional issue, because it highlights the deterioration of the link between youth, school and rural society (Glasman, 2000). Indeed, many studies point to dropping out of school as a mechanism that explains the amplification of social inequalities (Lamb, 2010;Lavrijsen & Nicaise, 2015). Thus, school dropout questions educational system in its functioning as well as in its ability to give meaning to the school experience of children and young people.
Otherwise, there are different typologies of dropout children. We can mention the study which distinguishes between four categories of dropouts: Students with hidden antisocial behaviours, students with little interest and motivation for school, students with learning difficulties and depressed students (Fortin and al., 2012).
Thus, dropping out is seen as a gradual process of disinterest in school. There is a well-established literature in education, sociology, and economics on the factors associated with dropping out of school. Researchers have examined this phenomenon as the result of an accumulation of internal factors (absence and inadequacy of school infrastructures, recurrent absenteeism of rural learners and part of the teachers, the nature of the teacher/ student relationship, curriculum not adapted to the rural context, previous school performance and school failure...), and factors external to the school system (parental illiteracy, demographic characteristics and family background, negative attitudes of parents towards school, student with adult responsibilities, child labor, early marriage .. After presenting the different meanings and uses of the concepts of rurality, illiteracy and dropping out of school, let us see how educational issues have been analysed by Moroccan rural sociology.

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Clearly, interest in the Moroccan rural areas has grown since colonial sociology (Berque, 1955;Hardy & Brunot, 1925). However, just after Moroccan independence, rural studies were conducted within the framework of public action and development projects, with the first generation of Moroccan sociologists adopting various approaches: holistic (Pascon, Khatibi), feminist (Belarbi, Bourquia), exploratory (Mernissi), etc.
In this context, some specific researches on schooling and education in rural Morocco have emerged, such as the survey titled ""What 296 Rural Youth Say"", with the aim of measuring representations, expectations and ambitions of young rural Moroccans (Pascon & Bentahar, 1970). Despite the importance of this study, it remains just global (Rachik & Bourqia, 2011). However, it was Zouggari who carried out a field survey of the rural school. The main thesis defended by this scholar is that the various reforms aimed at improving the school system would have little impact as long as the relationship with rural areas is not rigorously thought out (Zouggari, 1996). On another side, Foubar analyzed the production of educational inequalities in rural Morocco. Through a field survey in the rural region of Béni Tajjit, Foubar showed that the expansion of education in rural areas had a low impact on the local population and on the quality of education and training. This led the researcher to assert that education in rural areas is not yet ready to become a locomotive for development and social promotion (Foubar, 2011).
We believe that the studies cited above are characterized by the adoption of the logic of schooling. It is, therefore, the same logic adopted by educational policies since the independence of Morocco. By focusing on schooling, it will not be possible to understand the various logics of unschooling.
We argue here that understanding the relationship between schooling and non-schooling in rural areas should be part of a broader sociological paradigm, which includes, on the one hand, the nature of educational supply and literacy, and, on the other hand, the characteristics of social demands for education in rural Morocco.
It is in the light of these complex relationships between the supply of and demand for education that we can handle the evolution of schooling policies, the fight against illiteracy, and school dropout.

Evolution of Policies to Fight Illiteracy and Dropping Out Of School In Moroccan Context
The education and training system has been the subject of much controversy nationwide. Although the right to education is clearly mentioned in many official texts (Constitution: article 13, royal speeches, Strategic Vision 2015-2030, framework law n° 51-17 on the education, training and scientific research), many national and international reports stress the seriousness of illiteracy and the non-schooling of children, particularly in rural areas, and the need to address both problems.
In this section, we will analyze the evolution of policies to fight against illiteracy and school dropout in Morocco, particularly in rural areas, with emphasis on the initial objectives and main achievements.
Thus, what are the strategies used to implement the 2011 constitution, which recognizes the right "to a modern, accessible and quality education" for every citizen (Article 31) and admits that "basic education is a right of the child and an obligation of the family and of the State" (Article 32).
It is important to note that the demographic factor is essential in any schooling policy. Indeed, the Moroccan population has grown significantly during both the Protectorate and Independence. It is increased from 3,372,000 inhabitants in 1921 to 7,675,000 inhabitants in 1952, with a strong demographic increase in the cities (91% between 1936 and 1952), and an unprecedented development of the rural exodus (Sabagh,1993). In addition, from 1960 to 2014, the Moroccan population has multiplied by 2.7, going from 11.6 million to 32 million, while its demographic profile is still characterized by its youth since the share of those under 15 currently reaches 30% of the population(HCP, 2015). On the other side, the challenge of demographic growth has been accompanied by the persistence high number of illiterates, which has increased from 6 million people in 1960 to more than 10 million in 2004 (Bougroum et al., 2006).
As a result, the demographic acceleration in Morocco has weighed on the efforts undertaken in terms of development, in general, and both schooling and fighting illiteracy, in particular.

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The first years of independence 1956-1966 were characterized by both political and popular willingness to develop education in different regions of the country. The generalization of primary education was at the heart of educational policy. The primary access rate fell from 18% in 1956 to 53% in 1965 (Vermeren, 2002).
In addition, the first literacy campaigns 1956-1957 were mainly oriented towards access to written culture. Politically, these campaigns were used as a way to promote national unity. They had great success with the literacy of one million people in 1956 and two million in 1957 (Belarbi, 1996).
At the same time, Morocco began to make workers in key sectors of the economy literate. The aim was to gain economic independence after political independence (Rivenc, 1960). For example, in 1957, 91% of Moroccan railroad workers were illiterate. Of the 117 managers, none were Moroccan.
The political will and popular fervor behind mass literacy in the 1950s and early 1960s, were not pursued, as priority was given instead to the generalization of primary education.
Indeed, although the overall enrollment rate was only 17% in 1956, the efforts of the nationalist government had succeeded in improving this rate to reach 45% by 1962 (Baina, 1981), as shown in the following table. This schooling effort was not very beneficial for rural populations because during the Protectorate period, rural areas were seen as representing "useless Morocco". Also after Independence, these areas remained marginalized for a long time, both in terms of basic social services and in terms of public infrastructure equipment programs. The period of structural adjustment during the 1980s amplified the accumulation of socioeconomic deficits in rural area, which housed two thirds of the poor population and 78% of the illiterate populations (Morrisson,1991). The associations program is directly supported by the ANLCA. Thanks to partnership agreements with associations, the ANLCA contributes to the development of manuals and guides, but also financial support in the form of a subsidy.
As for the partner association, it is responsible for training and organizational aspects (classroom, collection and registration of beneficiaries, etc.). This program targets the illiterate population over the age of 15. Rural women are seen as an important category to reach.

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The Business Program targets illiterate and low-skilled personnel, depending on the nature of a few businesses and economic activity.
During the last ten years, the total number of people registered with literacy programs reached 6.8 million (ANLCA 2018) In 2020, the various programs to fight illiteracy reached 1,022,000 beneficiaries (young people, women and rural people), an increase of 9.3%.
After presenting the key moments of the policy to fight illiteracy in Morocco, let us now take stock of the actions to fight school dropout.
Despite the efforts of the Moroccan State in terms of schooling and literacy, the major challenge is not only to offer a place to each child, but also to ensure that they remain in school until the age of 15 years old (Cerbelle, 2012). Indeed, the principle of compulsory education struggles to be concrete, as evidenced by the high dropout rate, especially in rural areas.
King Hassan II described the Moroccan education system in the 1970s as follows: "Our educational system is presented as a sack of wheat with holes that we would carry to the mill. Along the way, the wheat gets lost, and no one, except perhaps the birds, picks it up. When we arrived at the mill, we realized that we have lost half of our wheat. The primary school is our starting point while the upper represents the mill " (Souali & Merrouni, 1981).
This image of the weight of school dropout in the Moroccan education system finds its echo in the first diagnosis made by UNICEF in 2006 and which reveals that access to education is in deficit for several categories of children, especially girls more than boys and rural children more than city dwellers. The UNICEF survey revealed that 58.4% of every 100 out-of-school children were girls and 76.2% were aged 12 to 15. Among them 80% live in rural areas and 40% are in a work situation (Gouzi & Aoufi, 2006).
Although the Government launched the National Charter for Education and Training (CNEF) in 1999, with the aim to bring about a profound improvement in the education system, dropout rates increased by 26% between 2000 and 2003, from 5% to 6.3%; this rate is higher in rural areas where it stands at 7.8%. Consequently, one of the most important quantitative objectives of this reform, which is to ensure the full completion of primary education in 2004, is far from being achieved (Chedati, 2004).
The following graph shows the evolution of school dropouts according to the education cycles. 262 Graph: -Evolution of dropout rates per cycle.
The graph shows that rates are generally lower at the primary level. However, problems of access and success at the end of the cycle contribute to increasing the dropout rate per cycle. According to Chedati (2004) In 2018, dropping out of school threatened thousands of students, forcing them to leave school before obtaining a study certificate, or even benefiting from the law of compulsory education (primary and secondary school). Indeed, according to CSEFRS, (2019), 431,876 students drop out of public school in 2018 without having certification, of which 78% were in the primary and college cycles, cycles which are supposed to retain children in class at least until the age of 15.
We can also note that the dropout rates mainly affect the final grades of the cycles (12.4% at the end of primary school, 19.3% at the end of college and 17.1% in the 2nd year of the baccalaureate). The reasons for these high rates relate to the limited supply of middle and upper secondary schools in rural areas and the accumulated age following failure.
The severity of dropouts, especially in college, in rural areas and for girls, is reflected in relatively low college completion rates (55.6% in 2015). This means that many children leave the school system early and come to feed the flow of illiterates.
In addition, the analysis by area shows that the rural area is more affected by dropping out of primary and middle school. . In 2018, the dropout rate recorded was 4.8% in the rural primary school, and 2.2% in the urban area.
Finally, the analysis by gender shows that in 2018, the dropout rate for girls (3.9%) is higher than boys (3.4%) in primary school level. This situation is reversed at other levels to represent 16.6% in secondary school level as a dropout rate for boys while 11.6% was recorded for girls. In qualifying secondary school, the dropout rate is 11.9% for boys and 8.8% for girls.
The scale of the school dropout phenomenon is also confirmed by the national survey on households and education carried out by INE in 2018 among 3,000 households. According to this national survey, 45% of parents believe that dropping out of school will be the first challenge for the Moroccan education system in the future (INE, 2019).
Thus, school dropouts have a very significant financial cost, both for the State and for families, particularly in rural areas where they make many sacrifices so that their children can attend school. For example, the overall public cost of dropping out of school in 2003 reached 660,776,400 Dhs. In addition, any drop out of primary school leads to 263 illiteracy. Consequently, the budgets injected into the education and training system appear unnecessary and represent a real waste of public finances (Chedati, 2004).
Consequently, in order to face the issue of dropping out of school, Morocco has put in place programs aimed at improving school retention. In 2000, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF set up the first program to fight against dropping out by improving the internal quality of the school (providing schools with drinking water, electrification, construction of latrines, construction of boarding schools for rural girls). In addition to improving the quality of schools in rural areas, the Ministry has created a non-formal education system (ENF), which is designed as a catch-up cycle, lasting one year, and which mainly aims at the reintegration of beneficiaries into formal primary school. The concept of Non-Formal Education (NFE) is presented as a new way of providing basic education for out-of-school children under 16 who do not attend school, despite the principle of compulsory education.
A new program called "Tayssir" was initiated in 2008. It concerns the conditional cash transfer (CCT). It consists of making a financial contribution to poor families in order to act on dropping out of school. The aim of this program is to reduce wastage by encouraging families to continue to send their children to school and, above all, to support them throughout their primary school pathway.
Thus, the strategy to fight against dropping out of school is based on 3 essential actions: prevention against dropping out by the creation of listening centers, integration through the ENF, or 2nd Chance school, and finally, financial support to families on the condition that their children continue their schooling.
Even if significant progress has been made in the field of public policy development and in defining the broad outlines of reform, the expected results were not achieved. For instance, the illiteracy rate remains high (32% in 2019), rural school dropout is still an issue (12.7 in 2018), and multidimensional poverty remains a rural phenomenon in Morocco, as 85% of poor people live in rural areas (HCP).
Thus, there is still a long way to go in order to guarantee irreversible literacy and a process of education and lifelong learning.

National Strategies To Fight Illiteracy And School Dropout In Rural Morocco: The Need For Comprehensive And Integrated Approach
Let"s start by noting some important achievements in access to basic services in rural Morocco. Social indicators show an increasing accessibility rate to rural roads which reached 79% in 2016 while it reached 34% in 1994. In addition, access to drinking water, which was estimated at 34% in 1994, reached 95% in 2015, and the connection to the electricity network stood at 99% in 2015 and only 18% in 1995(HCP, 2020). On another side, health indicators have registered a significant improvement. This is evidenced by life expectancy at birth, which reached 75.5 years in 2014, an increase of nearly 5.2 years in a decade. And infant mortality, which declined significantly to 28.8 per 1,000 live births for children under one year of age in 2015.
Despite these quantitative achievements, the current model of development is called into question: economic growth remains insufficient due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic (HCP, 2021). Unemployment remains high, particularly for young people, and social and territorial inequalities are high from a gender point of view (male/female) and place of residence (urban / rural / peri-urban) (Ibourk & Amaghouss, 2014).

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In rural and mountainous areas, for example, access to the network of basic health care facilities (ESSB) remains difficult for nearly 24% of the population. In addition, despite the widening of access to schooling, the average length of schooling is 4.5 years for women and 6.5 years for men. Some rural communities have enrollment rates below 50% or even 30%. Add to this, problems related to the quality of education and training in rural areas and much more in mountainous areas(CSEFRS, 2018).
Nowadays, rural areas in Morocco are still lagging behind in terms of development indicators (weak infrastructure, poor access to basic services, precariousness), which hinders the success of any education and literacy policy.
Regarding the field of education and the fight against illiteracy, the National Report of the fiftieth anniversary of development in Morocco made an alarming observation: "the panorama of half a century of evolution and educational reforms reveals a course marked by hesitation and inconstancy in strategic choices. It also shows that many of the problems of the national education system are inherent in its genesis and that the ills of teaching in Morocco stem less from a lack of a clear diagnosis than from the ineffectiveness of the remedies that have been brought to them "(RDH- 50,2006).
Thus, we will now proceed to the evaluation of policies to fight illiteracy and school dropout in terms of the objectives to be achieved. In this context, it should be noted that whether in terms of generalizing of access to education or fighting against illiteracy, the objectives set by the public authorities have always been too ambitious and exceed the material, human and financial resources put in place. For example, Moroccan decision-makers wanted to reduce the illiteracy rate from 51.7% in 1999 to less than 20% by 2010, with a view to eradicating illiteracy by 2015. Because the goal of total eradication was not achieved, the Moroccan state has pushed it back by proposing to reduce the illiteracy rate to less than 10% by 2026.
We maintain that a comprehensive and integrated strategy must be designed to combat illiteracy and school dropout. So, what are the characteristics of this strategy?

Optimal complementarities between programs to combat illiteracy and drop out of school:
It is necessary to make the link between the actions to fight against illiteracy and those related to dropping out of school. Moroccan authorities must therefore act on the preventive aspect at the source of illiteracy. This requires more efforts to generalize schooling in rural areas and ensure quality education. In addition, the curative aspect of the "Non-formal education" or "2nd chance school" programs also also needs to be improved in order to offer a second chance to children and young people who have dropped out of school and to promote their reintegration into school, training or socio-professional integration.

More synergy between the priority beneficiaries and the territories:
The second track of synergy consists in making the link between the priority beneficiaries and the territories. In this regard, any effort to improve the literacy rate requires special attention to the following categories: 1. Women and girls who constitute the most important part of illiterate people in Morocco; 2. Rural areas, where illiteracy rates are high and where it is also important to promote participation in local development and limit the rural exodus; 3. Young people who have benefited from non-formal education and because of the weak links with the formal or professional system can sink into illiteracy and constitute neo-illiterates.
The differential dropout behavior between boys and girls shows that the only handicap for girls (in rural areas in particular) remains access to school. National and international statistics and reports show that while girls are engaged in the secondary school system, they drop out less frequently than boys do. It is therefore urgent to review policies to combat illiteracy and dropout in relation to rural areas. We have combined statistics on illiteracy, school dropout and the percentage of rural populations in Morocco.
The following table shows that the three regions (Marrakech-Safi, Casablanca-Settat and Fès-Meknes) have the highest priority in terms of intervention policy to reduce illiteracy and dropout rates. In terms of education system efficiency and performance, the three regions have the highest illiteracy and dropout rates. In addition, the analysis of the Gini index in the three regions shows that they are all far from achieving equality in the right to education and that 2/3 exceeds 0.5 as the average variant between a perfect equality in index 0 and an extreme inequality at index1.

Real involvement of Civil Society Organizations (CSO)
According In order to ensure proper involvement of CSOs in programs to fight illiteracy and dropout, we are proposing the following actions: 1. Encourage associations involved in non-formal education and the fight against illiteracy in rural areas; 2. Renewing the experience of organizing regional workshops related to the development of partnership between ANLCA and NGOs. The last workshops were held in 2017 with the participation of 324 associations; Organization of workshops at the provincial level to ensure the mobilization of more NGOs. 3. Simplification of partnership procedures and adoption of multi-year agreements; 4. Allow associations to make optimal use of public spaces for mobilization (schools, youth centers, etc.); 5. Limit the literacy year to between October and June in order to reserve the rest of the year for mobilization, communication and program evaluation.
In addition, it is important to benefit from the achievements of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) launched in May 2005. This royal project adopts an integrated approach and a holistic concept of human development. Today, the NHDI constitutes the cornerstone and reference frame for the human development process in Morocco.
This initiative will therefore have to be integrated into regional and provincial strategies to combat illiteracy.
Putting the fight against illiteracy and dropping out of school at the center of the regional development plan: Advanced regionalization (AR) is an important part of the history of structural reforms implemented in 2015. This reform establishes the Region as a relevant framework for the deployment of territorial policies. It is based on the 2011 Constitution, which strengthened the status of local authorities as actors in the development of their respective territories (regions, prefectures, provinces and municipalities).
The RA "…prelude to a profound reform of the structures of the State, through the resolute and gradual conduct of the processes of consequent and effective decentralization and deconcentration, of advanced democratization, of acceleration of development, of social and political modernization, and administrative aspects of the country and good governance ".
Today, Morocco is committed to the effective implementation of its AR. This is evidenced by the transfer of powers and financial and human resources to the elected Presidents of regional, provincial and prefectural councils. These powers were previously limited to regional Walis and provincial Governors.
In Morocco, the institutions involved in the fight against illiteracy are diverse and heterogeneous (public bodies, private sector companies, regional and provincial councils, civil society associations, etc.). One of the missions of the ANLCA is to ensure this coordination. However, we believe that it is within the framework of regionalization that this synergy could be achieved.
The regionalization of strategies for combating illiteracy and dropping out of school make it possible to provide local responses to the following difficulties: 1. The weak complementarities between the different approaches and literacy programs at the level of municipalities and provinces, within the same region; 2. The supply of literacy which is very limited compared to a significant demand in rural areas; 3. Problems of internal and external efficiency of literacy programs (high dropout rate and low success rate); 4. Difficulties in collecting, processing and analyzing beneficiary data in rural areas; 5. Lack of a common database for literacy, non-formal education and vocational training programs. The objective of these reforms is to meet the challenges of linking geographically contrasting territories (plains, mountain ranges, desert regions) and reducing the urban-rural divide. These reforms aim to diversify the economy, provide efficient public services, significant investment in human development, and economically productive, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable territorial development.
We claim that programs to fight illiteracy and drop out of school should take advantage of the various rural development programs.
Among these programs, we can cite the National Strategy for the Development of Rural Areas and Mountain Areas (SNDERZM).

Conclusion:-
It is undeniable that Morocco has made great efforts to guarantee its citizens the right to education. However, the dimensions relating to quality, equity and efficiency are still far from being assured.
Moreover, despite various reforms, the education and training system is currently facing two major challenges: illiteracy and school dropout.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the close links between illiteracy, school dropout in rural areas. In fact, very few researchers have analyzed the phenomena of illiteracy and school dropout in a rural context, and from educational policy perspective, so that decision-makers can take into account the lessons to be learned.
Indeed, adult illiteracy and school dropout among children and young people are major blocks to rural development. Moreover, the phenomenon of school dropout is fueling the growing number of new illiterates and reinforces the consequences of illiteracy.
Thus, the main goal is to ensure greater synergy between literacy programs and the fight against dropping out of school, and social development projects in rural Morocco.
The study has shown that national strategies to fight illiteracy and school dropout in rural areas in Morocco need to be comprehensive and integrated.
The strategy that Moroccan authorities have to design should insure optimal complementarities between programs to combat illiteracy and dropout of school and more synergy between the priority beneficiaries and the territories.
One of the key players in this strategy is Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

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In rural areas, organizations and associations must simultaneously develop programs to combat illiteracy and dropout school, because any child who drops out of school joins the long line of new illiterates.
On the other hand, illiteracy and dropping out of school must be at the heart of the regional development plan. To do this, the Regional Council must consider education and training as a priority strategic focus for the development of the region.
Finally, it is important to establish greater complementarity between rural development programs and those to combat illiteracy. This will guarantee more effectiveness and efficiency.