Morocco is set to digitize the payment of financial support given to students’ parents under the “Tayssir” program.
The Moroccan Ministry of Education signed an agreement on Thursday, December 10, with the Ministry of Industry and Morocco’s central bank, Bank al-Maghrib, to launch the digitization process.
First implemented in September 2008, the “Tayssir” program offers regular financial payments to poor families on the condition that they enroll their children in school.
The initiative, which the minister of education launched, seeks to reduce school dropout and child labor. It mainly targets low-income households in rural areas.
The program gives families an annual stipend ranging from MAD 600 to MAD 1,400 ($67-$156) per child. The amount varies depending on the children’s education level.
The newly-announced agreement will facilitate the distribution of allowances and save beneficiaries the effort of traveling to bank agencies and waiting in queues to receive the support.
According to the agreement, beneficiaries of the “Tayssir” program will be able to use a mobile application to receive payments and make purchases or withdraw money.
The Ministry of Education and its partners will launch the project during a trial period in four Moroccan provinces: Fez, Meknes, Benguerir, and Azilal. It will then generalize the project to all Moroccan regions.
The signing of the agreement falls within the Moroccan government’s efforts to digitize the payment of aid and to promote mobile and digital payment as a substitute for cash.
Morocco’s efforts to digitize several services have witnessed a significant acceleration during the COVID-19 pandemic.