Education in Mozambique

[3] Prior and during the colonial period, native African education in Portuguese East Africa was essentially informal, with initiation rites within tribes the only formal element.

[4] Formal education was however provided by Koranic schools in Muslim towns, primarily in the north.

[6] The small number of educated Africans meant a lack of literate workers, the shortfall being made up in part by Indians.

[16] In 1964 attendance was made compulsory for all children within five kilometres (three miles) of a school, though the lack of facilities prevented this from being fully implemented.

[20] However, the literacy drive suffered from a lack of trained teachers and from the practical need for many students to spend time on farmwork rather than in classrooms.

Schools, as part of the governmental infrastructure, were a particular target of Renamo attacks,[22] and the literacy rate fell back from 20% in 1983 to 14% in 1990.

[25] Education is compulsory and free through the age of 12 years, but matriculation fees are charged and are a burden for many families.

Enforcement of compulsory education laws is inconsistent, because of the lack of resources and the scarcity of schools in the upper grades.

[26] In 2007, one million children still did not go to school, most of them from poor rural families, and almost half of all teachers in Mozambique were still unqualified.

[36] There are almost twice as many male students as female (1.8:1 in 1999);[28] this discrepancy is more severe in the government universities, where men outnumber women 3:1.

HE students are disproportionately likely to have Portuguese as their native language, and are far more likely than the general population to have educated parents.

[35] This over-subscription generally applies only to the government schools, with the non-governmental institutions having roughly equal numbers of applicants and places.

Mario et al. have suggested that the difference between these two rates can be attributed to UEM's requirement of a final dissertation.

They have been criticised for their motivations (financial and religious, rather than purely educational), and for luring teachers away from the state sector.

[45] As noted above, the new universities have also helped to increase the number of places available and the geographical range of provision.