Mozambique

 Country Basic Information

Principles and general objectives of education

Current educational priorities and concerns

Laws and other basic regulations concerning education

Administration and management of the education system

Structure and organization of the education system

Pre-school education takes place in nurseries and play-grounds for children under 6 years of age. Attendance is not compulsory.

Primary education covers the first seven grades of general education, subdivided into two levels: the first level (EP1, Grades I-V) and second level (EP2, Grades VI and VII). Parents are obliged to enrol their children in the year of their sixth birthday.

General secondary education, or the second level of general education, lasts five years. It is divided into two cycles: the first cycle lasts three years (Grades VIII-X) and the second covers Grades XI and XII. Technical and professional education is provided by technical schools and institutes. Basic technical education (equivalent to the first cycle of general secondary education) trains skilled workers; mid-level technical education (equivalent to the second cycle of general secondary education) trains technicians.

Higher education includes three public institutions. In accordance with the new Higher Education Law of 2003, these institutions offer a variety of programmes leading to the bachelor’s degree (three-year course), the licenciatura (generally, a four-year course; seven years in the case of medicine), the master's degree (two-year course), and the doctoral degree (three- to five-year course).

Education has suffered deep cuts in the funding granted from the General State Budget (OGE), following the implementation of structural adjustment measures begun in 1987.

From 1980 to 1986, the recurrent educational budget amounted to between 17% and 19% of the total state recurrent budget, but in 1987 this percentage dropped sharply to 9%. Cuts in educational expenditure mainly affected the real wages of teachers, which collapsed by about 50% between 1986 and 1987. Of no less importance are the cuts in expenditures on goods and services, which have particularly affected the quality of education provided.

In 1997, the recurrent educational budget amounted to 17.2% of the total OGE, and showed a significant, real increase when compared with the 1984 budget. This increase was most significant for the wage component which absorbed 75% of total educational expenditure, and was aimed at the admission of new teachers, particularly for primary education, in accordance with the government’s policy of prioritizing expansion of access to this educational level. The recurrent budget was distributed among the various levels of education in the following way:

·        Primary education: 46.0%

·        General secondary education: 10.2%

·        Teacher training: 0.3%

·        Technical and professional education: 6.7%

·        Higher education: 22.2%

·        Central and provincial administration: 14.8%

According to the Ministry of Education, from 1980 to 1986 the share of the education investment budget in the total State investment budget was between 4% and 1%. However, in 1987 this percentage was just 0.3%. In 1995, education as a whole received 10.7% of the total state budget for investment expenditure. By level of education, the distribution of the investment budget that year was as follows:

·        Primary education: 24%

·        Secondary education: 14%

·        Technical and professional education: 12%

·        Teacher training: 23%

·        Higher education: 27%

In analyzing educational expenditure, it is important to stress that there is no systematized knowledge about the entire government effort in the educational field, since apart from the budget directly allocated via the Ministry of Education, other sectors of the government also undertake training activities financed from the state budget. These expenses are not included as part of the overall budgetary effort for education.

At the higher education level, more than 60% of recurrent expenditures in 1994/95 (excluding technical assistance) were non-wage costs. Support for students (28%), international co-operation (16%) and boarding accommodation (14%) are the most important components of external aid. Thus, funding sources for higher education in Mozambique are: the general state budget; international co-operation funds; and the income generated by the institutions themselves.

Foreign aid has played an extremely important role in education financing. In 1993, the non-wage costs financed by foreign sources exceeded the levels of internal funding and represented half the total of current aid. But these contributions referred only to certain inputs such as the production of school textbooks, food aid, assistance in paying import duties, freight charges and other costs in the central and provincial administration. Many other important school inputs, such as teachers’ manuals and basic classroom equipment, are seriously under-funded.

There are no systematized data that would allow quantifying the significance of the direct contributions made by families to education. However, there are indications that in most schools in urban and peri-urban areas (excluding state paid wages) non-wage funds are derived from financial contributions which are decided by common agreement between the parents and the school.

Private education is basically financed by non-governmental sources. However, in 1995 the government began to finance a small number of community schools by paying wages to their teachers and providing textbooks for the pupils.

It is the task of the Ministry of Education, together with the ministries of Women and Social Action and of Health, to define the general norms for pre-school education, to support and monitor their implementation, and to define the criteria and norms for the opening, operating and closure of pre-school education establishments.

            In 2005, it was estimated that about 40,000 children of less than 6 years of age received some form of pre-school education, or less than 1% of the corresponding age group. Most programmes consist of community pre-schools supported by NGOs and religious organizations. (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2006).

The fundamental aim of primary education is to provide basic training in the areas of communication, mathematics, natural and social sciences, and physical, aesthetic and cultural education.

In 1997, about 1.75 million pupils attended EP1 (Grades I-V) and 42% of these were girls. In 1995, the gross enrolment ratio was 57% (75.6% in 1999). About 154,000 pupils attended EP2 (Grades VI and VII) in 1997, and girls accounted for 40% of total attendance at this level. In that year, there were only 253 pupils studying elementary technical education in just two schools. Primary education is served by a network of 5,689 schools for EP1, and 336 schools for EP2. In 1999, the net enrolment ratio was estimated at 43.6% (Ministry of Education, 1999).

There is less time available in primary schools operating in three shifts, as they have about 80% of the time that is available in schools with two shifts. In order to guide the organization of educational activities and ensure programme compliance, two types of study plans are established, with differential amounts of time for schools operating in two or three shifts. The weekly lesson timetables are presented below:

A new basic education curriculum has been defined and is being introduced since 2004. The main features of the proposal can be summarized as follows: (i) introduction of two sub-cycles in EP1 (Grades I and II, and Grades III-V); (ii) 20% of time allocation for local content to be integrated into the existing disciplines; (iii) introduction of local languages in early primary grades; (iv) introduction of foreign language teaching (English) in EP2; and (v) introduction of moral and civic education a cross-curricular area in EP1 and as a discipline in EP2.

The basic structure for pedagogical organization is the class, and in primary education the norm for class size is 50 pupils. However, there are considerable deviations from the established norm, with tendencies for larger classes in the urban and peri-urban areas and smaller ones in rural areas. In 1995, the average number of pupils per class in EP1 and EP2 was 47.5 and 45, respectively. In EP1 each class has one teacher, while in EP2 each class requires seven teachers––one for each subject taught at this level. The average pupil-teacher ratio was 58:1 in EP1 and 41:1 in EP2.

The progression of pupils from one grade to the next in EP1 is based on the decision of the class teacher, taking into consideration the pupil’s attendance and results obtained in the assessments throughout the academic year. Each EP1 pupil possesses an assessment record, which is regularly communicated to the parents, and serves as a liaison instrument between the school and the family. This record shows the results of the periodic assessments of the pupil, and gives indications about his/her performance. Parents should be regularly informed of the academic situation of their children.

At the end of first level primary education (Grade V) pupils sit a national exam to gain access to EP2.

In EP2, the transition from Grade VI is in accordance with established performance criteria. In final year of primary education (Grade VII), pupils sit national exams in each of the subjects of the study plan.

The number of children entering Grade I in the year in which they reach the admission age is manifestly low. There are significant numbers of older children enrolled in the same grade, which shows the prevalence of late entry into the system. This situation reflects both the lack of legal mechanisms to oblige parents to enrol their children in the year of their sixth birthday, and the inability of the school network to accommodate all the children who should enter first grade every year. The government is planning the gradual introduction of compulsory education, in accordance with the available material and organizational capacities to ensure that it can be effectively implemented.

Number of graduates by grade and by province, out of a group of 1,000 EP1 pupils of both sexes, applying the pass rates observed in 1994

As it can be seen from the table above, there are in fact very large regional differences in terms of academic success. On the other hand, because of the combined effect of the drop-out and repetition rates over several years of school attendance, the data show very low levels of retention.

After a period in which the transition rate for EP1 to EP2 oscillated at around 70%, since the start of the 1990s this rate dropped slightly and it was 66% in 1993/94 (78.5% in 1996/97). In absolute terms, the number of graduates from EP1 who advance to EP2 has not dropped, but the number of Grade V graduates shows a noteworthy growth. However, faced with this increase in EP1 graduates, the capacity of EP2 to offer them places has not grown significantly. In fact, due to the shortage of teachers, and particularly the shortage of premises, about 29% of children who complete first-level primary education have no chance to continue their studies.

In addition, it should be mentioned that only 1.2% of the population has Portuguese as mother tongue. The majority of the population speaks one or more of twenty different Bantu languages. Because there is no common mother tongue nationally, Portuguese was adopted as the medium for teaching from Grade I onwards. This fact seems to be one of the most important reasons for the high rate of children repeating grades or dropping out of school.

The table below shows the promotion, repetition and drop-out rates in EP1 in selected years:

Promotion, repetition and drop-out rates in EP1

Source: Ministry of Education, 1999.

            Between 1999 and 2005, it is estimated that total enrolment at the primary level (EP1 and EP2) increased from some 2.3 million to 4 million of pupils, and the number of schools increased from about 6,500 to 9,500. EP1 completion rate increased from 26% in 1999 to 57% in 2005. (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2006).

General secondary education (ESG) is offered in secondary schools and is divided into two cycles: the first cycle lasts three years (Grades VIII-X) and the second covers Grades XI and XII. The goals of secondary education are to consolidate and broaden pupils’ knowledge of mathematics, natural and social sciences, and in the areas of culture, aesthetics and physical education.

General secondary education is aimed at pupils who have graduated from EP2 (Grade VII). The weekly lesson timetable for the first cycle of ESG is as follows:

There were 45,200 students in the first cycle of secondary education in 1997, of whom 40% were girls. In the same year, there were 6,343 pupils in the second cycle (36% girls). General secondary education was offered in sixty-three schools for the first cycle and twelve schools for the second cycle. As far as technical and professional education is concerned, 13,152 pupils (of whom 29% were girls) were enrolled at the basic level in twenty-three schools. Mid-level technical education was attended by about 2,600 pupils (of whom 18% were girls) studying in eight institutes.

In 1995, in the first cycle of general secondary education the average number of students per class was 46 and the average student-teacher ratio was 19:1. In the second cycle, the average number of students per class was 40, and the average student-teacher ratio was 22:1.

The meager nature of the ESG school network means that the catchment areas for this level are excessively large. Thus, as a rule, first-cycle secondary schools take as their catchment areas the districts where they are located, plus districts that are not directly served by secondary schools, but that are within the same province. For the second cycle of secondary education, each province now possesses one school, which means in this case that the pupils for this level are recruited in each province.

By law, attendance at general secondary schools, as well as accommodation in the boarding homes set up for this level, presupposes a financial contribution from the students through the payment of enrolment, tuition and boarding fees. For students without the means to pay these fees, the law envisages reduced fees or exemption from fees, a measure aimed at equal and equitable treatment.

The assessment regulations in force for secondary education establish that students conclude this level by sitting national exams at the end of Grades X and XII. In the other grades there are no exams, and the transition of students from one grade to the next is decided by the teachers’ council of their class, based on transition criteria established in the regulations.

Though some EP2 graduates are able to continue their studies in industrial and commercial technical schools, the transition rates are low. This means that every year there are EP2 graduates unable to continue their studies, because there are not enough places in the general secondary schools.

The transition rate from the first to the second cycle of secondary education showed a gradual decline until the early 1990s. This was the result of the increase in the number of graduates from the first cycle, and the fact that the school network was under-developed. Thanks to the opening of new secondary schools, the transition rates for this level (73.6% in 1994/95) exceed those of the mid-1980s (49.8%). Notwithstanding, the internal efficiency of secondary education is still low, mainly due to the high drop-out and repetition rates, among other factors. In 2005, it was estimated that the average repetition rate in the first and the second cycles of secondary education was 35% and 25%, respectively. (MEC, 2005). In the same year, the gross enrolment ratio was estimated at 24.5% in the first cycle and 6.1% in the second cycle. The total enrolment was estimated at 230,000 students. Most of the teachers have not the required qualifications and only 20% of them are women. (MEC, 2006).

Technical and professional education is taught at technical schools and institutes, offering courses covering three major areas (industrial, commercial and agricultural education) at elementary, basic and medium levels.

Basic technical education trains skilled workers for economic and social sectors, developing their scientific, technical and professional knowledge, and developing their capacities, skills and habits in accordance with the curricula and study plans of each specialty. The admission requirement is the completion of second-level primary education, or elementary technical and professional education, or its equivalent. Basic technical education offers industrial courses grouped into eighteen specialties in the fields of mechanics, electricity and construction; three specialties in the commercial course, and four in agricultural courses.

Mid-level technical education trains technicians for economic and social sectors, developing their scientific and technical knowledge in the respective professional profile and their management capacities. The admission requirement is complete first cycle of secondary education or complete basic technical and professional education. Mid-level courses offer: ten industrial specialties in the fields of mechanics, electricity, construction, chemistry, and geology and mining; two specialties in the commercial field; and two in the agricultural area.

The courses generally last three to four years—depending on the area or field and the level. Courses include general subjects and basic sciences, and subjects with a professional component (theoretical and practical). The total time load for elementary and basic courses is about 2,700-3,200 hours, and for mid-level courses 4,000 to 5,000 hours.

In accordance with the assessment regulations in force in technical education, students successfully complete the courses by passing an exam in all the subjects of their study plan. In addition, basic-level students should take a professional aptitude test. In mid-level courses, the successful completion of studies involves a pre-professional apprenticeship period and the defence of a written dissertation.

Those students graduating from technical education receive diplomas that are equivalent to those awarded in general education, namely: basic level, equivalent to ESG first cycle (Grade X), and mid-level, equivalent to ESG second cycle (Grade XII).

In 2005, it is estimated that there were 47 institutions offering technical and professional education (11 at the elementary, 28 at the basic, and 8 at the middle level), of which 22 under the responsibility of other ministries and 8 in the private sector. The total enrolment was estimated at some 41,000 students. (MEC, 2006).

A research was recently conducted in ninety primary schools in four provinces (Cabo Delgado, Zambézia, Maputo City and Maputo Province), involving 125 headteachers, 479 teachers and 8,245 pupils.

Results in the Portuguese language test showed that in Grade II only 45.3% of the pupils could attain the basic objectives of the Portuguese language syllabus; in Grade III, the rate was higher (65.1%) although according to the expectations is still low. After three years at school, around 50% of the pupils seem to have not developed all of the skills and abilities required. Most difficulties were found in spelling and reading comprehension of simple texts and simple sentences.

Results in the mathematics test showed that in Grade II 66.2% of the pupils were able to attain the basic objectives set for that class (85% in Grade III). Almost 50% of the pupils can not cope with confidence with sums and subtractions involving mental calculations.

Finally, pupils’ achievement in natural sciences has been around 85%. Although most of the pupils scored 10 in a 20-point scale––the minimum required for them to pass––a detailed analysis of the type of mistakes indicated that pupils do not properly master the application into a real context of concepts and knowledge acquired in this subject. (Ministry of Education, 1999).

Another recent research involving Grade X students showed that some 60% of the students did not attain the minimum objectives required for mathematics in Grades VIII, IX and X. Concerning Grade XII students, some 49% of the students assessed did not attain the required minimum objectives for mathematics in Grades XI and XII. (MEC, 2005).

During the 1990s, higher education was provided by three institutions, namely: the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM); the Pedagogical University (UP); and the Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI). These institutions are public and are located in the capital, except for the Pedagogical University that, from an early stage, undertook a policy of territorial expansion  establishing branches in Mozambique’s second largest city (Beira), and more recently (1995) in Nampula.

Higher education institutions have a high degree of autonomy and co-ordinate their actions with the National Council of Higher Education.

Higher education establishments offer a variety of programmes leading to the bachelor’s degree (three-year course) and to the licenciatura (five-year course; seven years in the case of medicine). Courses can be grouped into the following areas: technological sciences, medical/veterinary sciences, pedagogical sciences, natural sciences, social and human sciences, economic sciences, architecture and physical planning, and agricultural sciences. The new Higher Education Law of 2003 also established the master’s degree (two-year programme), and the doctoral degree (three- to five-year programme) programmes.

The UEM, established in 1976, is a result of the transformation of the University Lourenço Marques. The objective was to establish a national university that would stimulate the development of a national identity and social and economic reorganization.

The UP was created in April 1995, when the Council of Ministers decided to transform the Higher Pedagogical Institute into a university. The general aims of the Pedagogical University are higher-level training, research and extension. As a vocational institution, the University provides higher-level training for teachers at all levels as well as for other cadres in the educational and similar areas.

The ISRI was established with the aim of training officials for diplomatic and consular service, as well as other tasks inherent to international relations.

From 1991, entrance examinations were introduced in order to establish norms and harmonize conditions and criteria for access, thereby guaranteeing equality of opportunity to all citizens, and selecting candidates for the various courses with greater rigour. To facilitate higher education attendance and reduce the discriminatory effects arising from economic and regional inequalities, or from previous social disadvantages, the government grants scholarships to support low-income students––if necessary according to a quota system.

In 1994, the three higher education institutions admitted about 1,200 new students––900 at UEM, 250 at UP, and 30 at ISRI. This represented 45.5% of the candidates who sat the entrance examinations. In the 1995/96 academic year, about 7,000 students attended higher education and the total number of teachers was about 500. The breakdown of enrolment by institution was as follows: 71.9% at UEM, 24.0% at UP and 4.1% at ISRI.

Higher education enrolment distribution by gender shows continued male domination despite progress made in this area. Overall, women account for 26% of total enrolment. Gender distribution by course also shows sharp imbalances, with women accounting for between 40% and 68% in medical, veterinary and language courses, but less than 10% in the area of technological sciences. In the academic year 1999/2000, the total enrolment in the three public higher education institutions amounted to 8,921 students. Three private higher education institutions have been established in the country since 1995: the Higher Institute of Science and Technology of Mozambique, the Higher Technical Institute, and Catholic University of Mozambique. In 1999/2000, the total enrolment amounted to about 2,900 students.

In 2005, there were 23 higher education institutions in the country (11 in the public and 12 in the private sector), including universities, polytechnic institutions and high schools. The total enrolment was 22,256 students (of whom 7,143 students in the private sector), and the full-time teaching staff (assistants and professors) was estimated at 1,200 teachers, of whom 15% holders of a doctorate and 25% holders of a master’s degree.

Special education caters to children and young people with physical, sensory and mental disabilities, or who cannot easily follow the ordinary school classes. In principle, it takes place in special classes attached to ordinary schools. The Ministry of Education, together with the ministries of Health and Women and Social Action, is in charge of special education. Their tasks are to establish, support and monitor the implementation of norms, and define criteria for the opening, functioning and closure of special education establishments.

Children whose level of disability is not acute are placed in mainstream schools where they receive a special and individual care, while those with severe disabilities attend special schools.

By the end of the 1990s, there were four special schools nationwide: two for the mentally disabled, one for the blind, and one for the deaf. Overall, these schools had a total enrolment of slightly more than 400 pupils (418 in 2005). The main strategic lines for the development of special education are: promoting the principle of integration, through sensitizing and mobilizing regular schools and communities for the programme of integrated special education; training itinerant support teachers; supplying educational materials and equipment; and designing flexible study plans for children with special education needs.

In 1998 the MEC launched the programme Inclusive Schools in order to further promote the integration of children with special needs into ordinary schools. In 2005, some 31,000 children and young people were enrolled in special classes. (MEC, 2006).

Through Decree No. 11/90 of 1 June 1990, the Government authorized private education (free or fee-paying) in all types of schools and at all educational levels, thus decentralizing one of its functions in order to create an additional capacity which would translate into expanded opportunities for access to education.

Although several requests for licensing private schools have been presented to the Ministry of Education since 1990, with a few rare exceptions, consistent projects for building and equipping schools with laboratories, libraries, toilets, desks and other facilities have still not appeared. Instead, what have appeared are flimsy buildings, which provide evidence of the difficulties faced by the private sector in mobilizing funds.

The coverage is manifestly low, and this is worsened by the sharp disparity between provinces: 47% of the private school network is located in the Maputo city and province. Almost all private schools are in urban areas; 53% of private establishments are primary schools (EP1 and EP2) and 38% are secondary schools.

Number of schools and enrolment – private sector (1995)

About 70% of the pupils in private education are in the country’s major cities (Maputo, Matola and Beira). Students attending private education represent only 2% of the enrolment in the public sector. In 1999, enrolments in the private sector were as follows: EP1, 34,081 pupils; EP2, 8,641 pupils; ESG1, 10,396 students; ESG2, 1,868 students.

Among the private schools currently operating, two types can be distinguished: those whose activities are almost free of charge, and which are organized by humanitarian groups, communities, NGOs and other segments of civil society; and those which are profit-making bodies. In both cases, and in accordance with the law, the curriculum used in private schools is the same as that approved by the MINED for use in the official schools, though there are also possibilities to teach other subjects.

Pupils at private schools sit the national examinations. Teachers who work in private schools have generally been trained in public teacher training establishments. The government policy for private education consists in encouraging its expansion and development, particularly in areas that are not covered by public education. To this end, the government is considering mechanisms to support this sector so as to stimulate its qualitative and quantitative growth.

Since independence, it has been up to the Ministry of Education to design the curriculum for all types and levels of education, prepare programmes and textbooks, as well as test and distribute them through a company created for that purpose. The price of textbooks was heavily subsidized, which was why all pupils acquired them for the same price, regardless of the economic situation of their family. Despite the policy of general consumer subsidies, textbooks distributed never reached pupils, due to several problems: the limited capacity of the national printing industry; defective distribution circuits; and lack of purchasing power, particularly in rural communities.

The Ministry has redefined its school textbook policy, and books are sold at their real price, with a system of support for the poorest pupils established through the mechanism of the School Fund. Through this fund, at least in primary education, measures were taken to distribute books free of charge to all students and teachers in 1996. Textbooks are produced partly in Mozambique, in accordance with existing capacities, with the deficit covered by ordering from abroad.

School equipment is insufficient to meet the needs. There are significant shortages of basic equipment such as: blackboards, assorted auxiliary educational materials, and school desks in primary education. At the general secondary and technical education levels, the shortage of laboratories, audiovisual equipment and computers is well known.

The number of classrooms increased substantially, but it is still insufficient to meet the growing social demand. At the primary level, the number of classrooms increased from 12,792 in 1992 to 18,959 in 1997. Of this total, about 32% were built of flimsy materials and, therefore, they must be replaced over the short- to medium-term by solid buildings.

Under these conditions, which are worsened by the physical deterioration of facilities and by their use for two or three shifts a day, the teaching–learning process has suffered with obvious prejudice for academic results. An analysis carried out on the basis of 1994 data, revealed a total of 1,911 classes without classrooms that year.

The total number of classes in 1994 was 27,702. Thus, the classes without classrooms accounted for 6.8% of the total. Since the average number of pupils in a class was 48.9, this means that about 93,540 pupils did not have classrooms (the concept of classes or pupils without classrooms corresponds to the excess number of pupils in relation to the standard ratio of pupils per class).

Multiple shifts are a typical phenomenon in urban areas. According to 1995 statistical data, Maputo city and Maputo, Sofala and Manica provinces have the highest number of EP1 classes receiving lessons in the third shift––23%, 21%, 20% and 13%, respectively. In these provinces, the incidence of the third shift is limited to the provincial capitals, with the exception of Maputo, where the phenomenon tends to be generalized throughout all districts that have urban characteristics. In the remaining provinces, including the most populous ones (Nampula and Zambezia), the percentage of classes taught during the third shift is not higher than 8% of the classes in each province.

In the rural areas, due to the irregular distribution of human settlements, educational establishments generally operate in one shift.

The professional qualifications of primary school teachers are highly diversified, because of the variety of training models used to confront an acute shortage of teachers. There are the following categories of primary school teachers:

·        Post Teachers: Grade IV graduates who received four years of pedagogical training in the pre-independence Qualifying Schools for Post Teachers (EHPP).

·        Primary teachers (Magisterio Primario), also trained in colleges prior to independence and in the first years following independence, having completed nine years of formal schooling plus two years of training at teacher training colleges;

·        Teachers graduated from the primary teacher training centres (CFPP), having completed seven years of formal schooling plus three years of training. These centres also trained some teachers having completed Grade VI plus an additional six months to one year of training––the latter forming the dominant group (51.4%).

Due to the pedagogical organization of EP2, where teaching is given in individual subjects, teacher training courses included the following categories:

·        Teachers graduated from mid-level pedagogical institutes (IMP)––ten years of schooling plus three years of training at these institutes in bivalent courses;

·        Teachers trained at the faculty of education, Eduardo Mondlane University––nine years of schooling plus two years of pedagogical training.

The categories of general secondary education teachers are the following:

·        Teachers trained at the faculty of education, Eduardo Mondlane University––nine years of schooling plus two years of training in two specific disciplines;

·        Grades X and XI teachers trained at the faculty of education––eleven years of schooling plus two years of training in two specific disciplines;

·        Physical education teachers in EP2 and ESG schools trained at the Physical Education Institute––nine years of formal schooling plus two years of training.

Apart from the various categories of teachers described here, one should also include a significant group of teachers who, although they did not have any type of minimum qualification, were recruited to fill gaps in the system.

Trained and untrained teaching staff (1995)

Teacher training for technical and professional education is offered in the mid-level industrial, commercial and agricultural pedagogical institutes. Courses last two years and include psycho-pedagogical training and teaching practices. The required qualifications are completed mid-level or higher technical/professional courses in the area of specialization.

As far as higher education is concerned, recruitment is carried out among higher education graduates with the academic degree of licenciatura, corresponding to twelve years of formal schooling plus five years of university education (seven years in the case of medicine). In the past, recruitment of faculty staff also included graduates with a bachelor’s degree. Junior lectureres have the possibility to follow an in-service training programme culminating in post-graduate courses in Mozambique or abroad.

The initial training of primary school teachers is offered at the mid-level or lower. The admission requirements for primary school teacher training colleges are currently seven years of schooling for the CFPP (EP1 teachers), and ten years of schooling for the IMP (EP2 teachers). At the secondary school level, teacher training is undertaken by the Pedagogical University.

The definitive model for primary school teacher training, advocated by the government policy, will be a two-year course at primary school teacher training institutes for Grade X graduates. According to the MINED, “the current three-year courses for Grade VII graduates will be phased out and gradually replaced by two-year courses offered in teacher training institutes for Grade X graduates. In co-ordination with the Pedagogical University, courses leading to a bachelor’s degree or a licenciatura in primary education will be designed and put into operation, both for the trainers of teachers at this level and for primary school teachers in general.”

Other measures envisaged include changes in the structure of teacher training for the second cycle of primary education, so that it would be possible to use only two or three teachers per class, and providing teachers with skills to deal with multigrade classes.

The curriculum in primary school teacher training institutes covers five areas, namely:

·        Social sciences (civic education, history and geography);

·        Educational sciences (pedagogy, educational psychology, and school administration);

·        Communication and expression (Portuguese, English, music, artistic/visual education and physical education);

·        Working activities;

·        Mathematics and natural sciences.

The weekly workload is thirty-seven hours.

At the first level of primary education, the weekly teaching load is set at twenty-four hours. However, the fact that some schools operate in three shifts coupled with the shortage of teachers in these same areas, means that theoretically the weekly workload per teacher doubles for those who are looking after two classes. In fact, in schools operating in two shifts (which are the majority), the weekly workload is forty-two hours––thirty hours for direct work with the pupils, and twelve hours for preparatory and support work.

At the second level of primary education, the weekly workload is thirty-eight hours, of which twenty-four hours are spent with pupils, while the other fourteen hours are for preparation and support work. In practice, shortages of teachers for some subjects create situations of overloading in some cases, and of under-use in others. In the latter cases, teachers are obliged to complete their compulsory teaching hours in another shift or another school. School directors at this level teach at least one class, while the deputy directors have a teaching load reduced by twelve to fourteen hours, depending on the size of the school.

For the first cycle of general secondary education, the weekly workload per teacher is set at twenty-four hours. There is no obligation on the director of the school to teach, thus there are some directors who teach and others who do not. There is a reduction in the teaching load of twelve hours for the deputy directors and of four hours for the subject delegates.

Teachers of the second cycle of general secondary education have a weekly workload of twenty hours. They should also spend a compulsory four hours preparing the classes, correcting students’ assessment work and on related activities. For technical and professional education, the weekly workload is twenty-four hours at the elementary and basic levels, and eighteen hours at the mid-level. At each of these levels, the school director is advised to teach a class.

The General Statute of State officials establishes the framework of rights and duties of teachers as public officials. The Statute of Teachers defines the mechanisms whereby teachers are inserted into their profession. Both the General Statute of State Functionaries and the Statute of Teachers confer equal treatment for teachers of both sexes in matters such as wages, training, holidays and other benefits. Apart from their annual holidays, pregnant teachers may take a maternity leave of sixty days, which may start twenty days before the probable date of the baby’s birth. In this situation, the teacher retains all the rights inherent to her activity, and after the maternity leave she has a right to thirty minutes in each period of the day to breastfeed her child, during six months.

In 2005, it is estimated that there were some 60,000 teachers at the primary level (EP1 and EP2), of whom 31% women, and about 8,000 teachers at the secondary level. Some 42% of the EP1 teachers and 31% of the EP2 teachers were not qualified. The reform of the teacher education system is expected to start in 2007. (MEC, 2006).

Educational research faces financial constraints and the few funds available are donated by international agencies. Educational researchers work in isolation, and the results are rarely used in formulating policy.

There are research programmes focused on: problems of school effectiveness, identifying factors that may influence the quality of education, particularly in primary school and in a context of poverty; the sociology and culture of education through studying the inter-relationships between the school, the community, the pupils and the teachers; linguistics and education in the perspective of the country’s multilingual situation; psychology, with particular stress on conceptual studies; the environment, population, and policy analysis, with the goal of strengthening educational policy.