UNDP Mozambique committed with the immediate stabilization and recovery of the Cabo Delgado Province
DW
Primary and secondary school classes began this Monday, but despite government efforts, the country continues to experience a shortage of teachers and many children are still studying outdoors or sitting on the ground.
More than 7,600,000 students are enrolled in primary and secondary education in Mozambique this year. The number represents an increase of about 400,000 over last year.
Data from the Ministry of Education and Human Development indicate that the sector hired more than 5,000 new teachers this year, of which 4,000 were drafted into the primary sector. This brings the number in primary education to about 90,000 thousand teachers, but that is still not enough.
“We continue to have with a deficit of about 14,000 teachers for the first level of primary education,” Ministry of Education and Human Development spokesman Manuel Simbine says. The reason is “budgetary limitations”. Simbine says that ” the sector will do the management,” however to ensure that “no class will be left without a teacher, because the children have to be taught”.
Students sitting on the floor
The new school year will also see the continuation of hardship for many children, forced to study outdoors or sitting on the ground, despite the country being rich in forests and the education sector having 400 new classrooms and 50,000 desks this year – still not enough to meet demand.
The situation will be addressed in part by the manufacture of more than 10,000 desks made from wood seized in the 2017 government-run Operation Tronco on its way to be exported illegally.
The capital, Maputo, is one of the regions with the least problems, according to the Director of Education and Human Development, Artur Dombo. “The city of Maputo is well equipped. All students will sit two by two, as the rules say.”
Books in Braille
One innovation in this new school year will be the introduction of children’s books in Braille, a tactile writing system used by people who are blind or have severe vision problems.
Teacher Eduardo Inzenzela considers the introduction of this system important. “The inclusive teacher begins to be credited in this teaching process. It is also an asset for the children who were not taken into consideration before, since there were no such books,” he says.
“Training teachers in this area, regardless of their own physical condition, is also a challenge for the Ministry of Education and Human Development,” he reminds us.
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