Rabat - Morocco has allocated 570 million dirhams to fund scientific research projects for the 2014-2015 academic year, Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executives Training Minister Lahcen Daoudi said.
300 million dirhams will be granted by the ministry, while 270 million dirhams will be provided by other partners, Government Spokesman Mustapha El Khalfi said at a press briefing following the weekly cabinet meeting, citing a statement by Daoudi.
According to Daoudi, 396 projects were submitted as part of the reform of higher education, which started a few years ago, stressing that the government aims to spend a budget of 1 billion dirhams to promote scientific research.
The budget for college scholarships increased by 130 pc, rising from 718 million dirhams to 1.65 billion dirhams, Daoudi said.
The number of students enrolled in Moroccan universities rose by 47 percent from 446,985 during the 2011-2012 academic year to 656,467 during the 2014-2015 academic year.
The number of universities also increased from 382 during the 2011-2012 academic year to 392 during the 2014-2015 academic year, despite the acute problem of real estate holdings.