Since 1976, the primary concern of public authorities has been to provide a place at school for every child aged 6 years. This led to deploy constant and continuous efforts because of the increase in this age group. Meanwhile, another broader concern was not ignored: the generalisation of education, as soon as possible and under the best conditions in order to accommodate all Sahrawi children and young people of school age.

In addition, initiatives have been deployed aimed at enabling and facilitating access to non-formal education and vocational training for young people who have never attended school or whose schooling was interrupted. By focusing on this type of training the Sahara region has been able to meet the growing demand for qualified staff necessary for the regional development.

Building schools, ensuring training, and equal equipment distribution, reducing inequality in opportunities, were the main actions since the recovery of the Sahara region by homeland, the kingdom of Morocco.

In this context, a strategy was developed to eradicate illiteracy and non-formal education in the Sahara region. This strategy is based mainly on the royal directives, on the national charter for education and training and on the work of think tanks over 50 years of human development in Morocco. It is based also on the recommendations by the working meetings of the various interveners in the field of literacy and non-formal education. 
The strategy aims at:

• Reducing the rate of illiteracy in the Sahara region by 30% in 2008 and eradicating by 2010

• Strengthening efforts in remote areas, most impoverished areas and professional concentrations

• Preparing a statistical database shared by all interveners

• identifying children not attending school or who interrupted their schooling to ensure their reintegration within the framework of non-formal education

• Decreasing dropouts by 1% and eradicating them definitely on by 2009

• Carrying out partnerships in various areas to combat illiteracy

• Developing facilities for primary education through partnerships with NGOs and private financial institutions

• Creating school classes for the literate

This strategy relies on structures human and financial resources made available by:

• The Committee on combating illiteracy depending the three Councils of Directors of Regional Academies for Training and Education in the Sahara region

• The academic committee to combat illiteracy

• The delegate committee to combat illiteracy

• Cells at schools

The actions undertaken in the implementation of the above strategy include:

• Reinforcement of awareness campaigns and mentoring

• Registration of more than 12,000 beneficiaries in various programs to combat illiteracy

• Preparation of the program to strengthen teaching

•  Programming tutoring for over 6,000 children with learning difficulties in order to avoid early abandonment

• Availability of welfare on behalf of the beneficiaries of the various programs

• Reinsertion of more than 300 students who interrupted their studies

• Mastering the number of students who joined professional qualification cycle and cancellation of their status as students who interrupted their studies

• Giving second chance to 450 students out of school

• Programming training sessions in tune with the needs of different interveners

• Reintegration of learners in the program of the second chance in the learning cycle

Concerning supervision, monitoring and evaluation of all these actions, visits are regularly held in centers for combating illiteracy, non-formal classes and tutoring. Comments are treated during working sessions bringing together all the relevant interveners.

The participatory approach possessed by the State in dealing with the scourge of illiteracy and non-formal education gives good results towards the complete eradication of illiteracy in all regions of kingdom and, particularly, in the Sahara region.

The following tables show the number of people who benefited from programs to combat illiteracy in the region of the Sahara since its return to the motherland, the Kingdom of Morocco:

Laayoune Province  (To be completed as soon as Data are available)

	Urban				Rural
	Centers	Women	Men	Overall	Centers	Women	Men	Overall
Genaral Programme
Public Sector
Associations
General Overall

 

	Trainers
General Programme
Public Sector
Associations
Overall

Dakhla Province

	Urban				Rural
	Centers	Women	Men	Overall	Centers	Women	Men	Overall
Genral Programme	10	354	10	364	03	18	133	151
Public Sector	21	820	103	923	148	68	3606	3674
Associations	17	840	00	840	00	00	00	00
Overall	48	2014	113	2127	151	86	3739	3825

 

	Trainers
General Programme	17
Public Sector	577
Associations	19
Overall	613

Smara Province 

	Urban				Rural
	Centers	Women	Men	Overall	Centers	Women	Men	Overall
General Programme	3	46	16	62	-	-	-	-
Public Sector	10	359	32	391	1	26	-	26
Associations	25	746	58	804	1	30	-	30
Overall	38	1151	106	1257	2	56	-	56

 

	Trainers
General Programme	3
Public Sector	15
Associations	19
Overall	37

Boujdour Province 

	Urban				Rural
	Centers	Women	Men	Overall	Centers	Women	Men	Overall
General Programme	05	179	00	179	00	00	00	00
Public Sector	09	407	113	520	03	00	536	536
Associations	08	328	55	383	00	00	25	25
Overall	22	914	168	1082	04	00	561	561

 

	Trainers
General Programme	07
Public Sector	31
Associations	15
Overall	53

Aousserd Province

	Urban				Rural
	Centers	Women	Men	Overall	Centers	Women	Men	Overall
General Programme	8	650	0	650	2	18	132	150
Public Sector	21	1137	268	1405	32	87	841	928
Associations	14	1120	0	1120	0	0	0	0
Overall	43	2907	268	3175	34	105	973	1078

 

	Formateurs
Programme général	13
Secteur public	76
Associations	27
Total Général	116