Blog: Three questions to Dalila El Barhmi (Education International)

Three questions to Education International (EI)

This interview explores the vital work of Education International (EI) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities facing education workers today. Featuring the Regional Coordinator for Arab Countries Dalila El Barhmi, she highlights the organization’s efforts to address the growing impact of privatization in education and to develop and implement an innovative program on decolonizing education. 

El Barhmi offers valuable insights into EI’s regional priorities, partnerships, and ongoing commitment to promoting equitable, quality public education through collaboration, critical reflection, and social justice.

Could you briefly introduce Education International and its work in the MENA region? How many affiliates does EI currently have in the region, and what are the main areas of focus?

Education International has 32 member organizations with a total membership of over 15 million members from 15 countries. Education International’s work in the MENA region is linked to its global Strategic Plan, which focuses on four interconnected pillars: strengthening the teaching profession, defending quality public education, promoting human and trade union rights along with gender and social justice, and advancing peace, democracy, and climate justice. The plan aims to build an inclusive and representative global union movement that is capable of organizing, growing, and renewing itself to effectively advocate for educators and learners worldwide.

In the context of Arab countries, these priorities are particularly relevant. The region faces challenges such as teacher shortages, underfunded public education systems, and limited union representation. EI’s AC-CRS (Arab Cross-Country Regional Structure) strategy supports campaigns for better working conditions, increased education financing, and resistance to privatization. It also emphasizes empowering women in educational leadership, leveraging international legal frameworks to protect rights, and fostering peace and climate resilience — all of which are critical for countries affected by conflict, displacement, and environmental stress, as well as for ensuring the well-being of the teaching profession.

Education workers in the region are increasingly affected by the growing trend of privatization. Could you share some data or figures to illustrate the current scope and impact of privatization in the education sector?

Privatization in education across the Arab region has accelerated in recent years, significantly impacting education workers and deepening social inequalities. In Morocco, this trend has led to the emergence of a three-tiered private school system: elite institutions for upper-class families using foreign curricula, mid-tier bilingual schools for the middle class, and low-cost private schools for working-class families. This stratification reflects broader societal divisions and undermines the principle of equitable access to education. Government reforms have facilitated private sector involvement in education, often with minimal regulation. The involvement of high-ranking officials in private education raises concerns about conflicts of interest and impartial governance.

One of the most profound effects of privatization has been on the education workforce. Since 2016, Morocco has employed over 70,000 contract teachers with limited training and precarious employment conditions. These teachers lack the rights and stability of tenured staff, leading to widespread protests and significant disruptions in learning. Initiatives like Teach For Morocco, which place unqualified graduates in classrooms after brief training, have further undermined the professionalization of teaching. The public education system has also suffered from policies encouraging early retirement and voluntary departure, resulting in overcrowded classrooms and a decline in quality, which has prompted many families to turn to private schools.

Regionally, similar patterns are evident. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the private K–12  (kindergarten through 12th grade) education market is booming, valued at over $33 billion and projected to nearly double by 2030. Dubai alone enrolls more than 387,000 students in private schools, with annual growth rates of around 6%. In countries such as Qatar, public funds are increasingly redirected to private providers through voucher systems. Across the Arab world, contract-based employment is replacing tenure, leading to job insecurity and a reduction in teachers’ professional status. In Saudi Arabia and Egypt, educators have voiced concerns about the erosion of job stability and the commodification of education.

The rise of privatization has also deepened social inequality. In Morocco and other Arab countries, access to quality education is increasingly determined by socioeconomic status. Wealthier families can afford high-quality private education, while poorer families are left with under-resourced public schools or low-cost private options. This has created a multi-speed education system, where students live in parallel realities, reinforcing social divisions and undermining national cohesion. Despite policy rhetoric promoting equity, the reality is that education is increasingly treated as a commodity rather than a public good.

 (EI) has led impactful campaigns across the Arab region to address and reverse the growing trend of education privatization. In Morocco, EI launched the Global Response Campaign in 2015, grounded in research that highlighted privatization trends and offered concrete recommendations. These findings empowered EI affiliates to engage strategically in advocacy and policy dialogue. Building on this momentum, EI initiated the Go Public: Fund Education campaign in 2022, which calls for increased public investment in education as a key solution to the challenges posed by privatization.

These coordinated efforts have led to significant achievements. One of the most notable was: 

• the regularization of 140,000 contract teachers, improving job security and professional stability. 

• The education budget was increased by 16%, reaching a total of 140 billion dirhams, a change directly linked to the mobilizations under the GenZ 25 initiative, which our members are supporting through their young membership engagement. 

• Teachers also secured retroactive salary payments covering five years and gained a stronger voice in shaping education policies. 

• The government committed to creating 27,000 new teaching positions and prioritized universal preschool access, school enrollment support, and quality improvements.

These outcomes reflect the strategic campaign’s emphasis on inclusive union growth, social dialogue, gender-sensitive advocacy, and equitable funding. EI’s call for allocating 6% of GDP and 20% of government expenditure to education is now visibly influencing national budget planning. In fact, education and health combined currently represent approximately 8% of Morocco’s GDP, signaling a shift toward recognizing education as a public good rather than a commodity.

Several countries in the region have a colonial history, and as we know, knowledge production is often shaped by power dynamics. You recently launched a program on decolonizing education, which sounds like a promising approach—especially if it involves working collaboratively with teachers to adapt curricula or critically examine the coloniality of knowledge. Could you tell us more about your role in this initiative, and share your thoughts on potential partners and key challenges in implementing such a program?

Thank you for raising this important issue. My role in the decolonizing education initiative is to support collaborative efforts with teacher unions and educators to critically examine and transform curricula, pedagogical practices, and education policies. Drawing from our recent research, we focus on dismantling colonial legacies in education by promoting culturally relevant content, multilingualism, and inclusive teacher training.

Key partners include teacher unions, Indigenous and ethnic minority groups, academic institutions, and civil society organizations. These collaborations are essential to ensure that decolonization is not just theoretical but rooted in classroom realities and community needs.

Among the main challenges are entrenched colonial mindsets, resistance to change, underrepresentation of marginalized voices in decision-making, and limited government engagement. However, unions are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation, advocating for equity, epistemic justice, and the right to public education for all.

We are currently exploring partnerships with organizations that share these values, including Friedrich Ebert Foundation, whose commitment to social justice and democratic education aligns closely with our goals. Your work on inclusive education and development cooperation could offer valuable synergies in advancing decolonial approaches within our regional context.

For more information on the research conducted by EI, see here:

https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/29330:unions-leading-the-way-to-decolonise-education

https://www.ei-ie.org/file/928

Dalila El Barhmi is the Regional Coordinator for Arab Countries at Education International (EI), a Global Union Federation that unites organisations representing teachers and other education employees from around the world. Since 2019, she has been responsible for coordinating programs, policies, and activities in the Arab region, with a strong focus on trade union rights and equality. As a committed human and trade union rights activist, Dalila brings over 15 years of experience in advancing labour rights and social justice in the education sector.