The HEM Institute of Tangier wished to reach out to an abandoned school in a residential neighbourhood. Or rather, it is a group of four young girls in their second year at this institute who decided, as part of their end-of-year work, to take action. They came to the aid of a marginalised school in a neighbourhood of Nwichwich Malabata. The chosen theme: "Read to
live better". Rim Ben Said, Fadoua Srihem, Ghita Ouadrassi and Ijlal M'rabet are the names of the four young girls full of generosity and will. They painted the dirty walls of this primary establishment dependent on the delegation of the Ministry of National Education of Tangier-Asilah, thanks to the material support of benefactors and equipped three libraries with tales at the primary level. They collected 900 books offered by donors and put them in each library of six primary levels devoid of means. This group of four active young girls decided to bring their support to those who have nothing. With this gesture, they wanted to instil in the little ones the love of reading by equipping three classes with a library with books of tales. The spokesperson for this quartet, Nour Ben Said, declared before the inauguration of these libraries that her group, concerned about equal opportunities, strove to bring a smile back to the most destitute by supporting the poor schoolchildren of this establishment. "It was important in our eyes to encourage the little ones to take an interest in reading, because it is from this age that reading begins", and to conclude: "it is the first action that we have carried out, we the four, under the enlightened advice and supervision of our teachers.
We offered the 800 works, of which 400 were given to us by the Moulay Abdelaziz Institute of the city", she adds. The inauguration of the libraries of the Nwichwich school group of more than 654 pupils was marked by the presence of the educational team of the HEM institute, educational and cultural executives. One by one, the educational executives of the institute recalled the importance of reading at a young age and praised the four young girls who opted for this path and also recalled that a few days ago another group of 3rd-year students had organised and financed the wedding of a young couple who did not have the means to do so. "These are the gestures that we demand from our young students to sensitise them and encourage them to be true citizens at the service of destitute people. We congratulate these four students and their parents for the efforts they have made and we thank all the donors and benefactors for their noble gesture at the service of young schoolchildren, executives of tomorrow", stressed the officials of the institute. For his part, the director of the school, Ahmed Bennour, thanked these four young girls and their parents for having brought back the smile and the dream to the destitute little ones.
The reasons for school dropout
According to a seminar that took place last March, school dropout is attributable to the school, to the parents of pupils, to civil society and to learning conditions. This seminar shed light on this phenomenon which generates social problems such as the persistence of illiteracy, unemployment and delinquency.
It was specified that several factors pushed pupils to leave school, notably poverty, the health of the pupil, problems between parents, illiteracy and the distance from school. It turns out, however, that the Tangier zone records one of the lowest school dropout rates in Morocco, this phenomenon only concerning 1.05% of primary pupils and up to 9% of secondary pupils.
To fight against school dropout, it is necessary in particular to focus on school support for pupils with learning difficulties, the organisation of workshops for training in audiovisual and citizen journalism, the sensitisation of parents to the dangers of school dropout, in addition to the setting up of a monitoring unit to remedy any case of school loss.
It is also necessary that the school becomes an attractive space offering a framework for fulfilment for young people and that civil society gets involved inside and outside schools, so that school establishments are at the service of young people.
