Secretary of State to the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, and Social Economy Anis Birou of Morocco

Quoting enquiries carried out since Morocco's independence in 1956, Anis Birou said the illiteracy rate of the people aged 10 and over, has diminished by 39 points in 38 years adding the demographic explosion in the country since that period( 2.

Moroccan Secretary of State for Traditional Crafts Anis Birou said earlier this month that the government is planning to open the country's first higher institute for training in traditional crafts by 2010.

Presenting this study, the State Secretary for Education and non-Formal Education, Anis Birou said the latter provides with data on children dropout and non-schooling, their families' social and economic conditions as well as the factors facilitating their re-schooling.

Last week, Birou received in Jining, province of Shandong, eastern China, the Confucius Prize for Literacy, which the UNESCO awarded to Morocco this year.