Violence prevents 3,400 students from taking exams in Cabo Delgado

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Violence prevents 3,400 students from taking exams in Cabo Delgado

4:06 CAT | 18 Nov 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Armed attacks in Cabo Delgado are preventing 3,400 students from taking national exams in the province this month, according to official data.

“There were students who took exams on Monday morning, but in the afternoon there was an attack near the school and they dispersed along with the teachers. And they didn’t take the exams the next day,” said Feliciano Mahalambe, spokesman for the Ministry of Education, quoted by the Mozambican Information Agency (AIM).

This most recent case serves to illustrate what has been happening in the region.

According to Mahalambe, the situation affected Grade 6 and Grade 7 students in 38 schools in five districts – Namuno, Balama, Montepuez, Muidumbe and Ancuabe.

The rebel incursions put to flight 216 teachers, who have so far not been located, he added.

According to Feliciano Mahalambe, psychological support actions are planned and the holding of special exam sessions is being studied.

“Whenever this situation occurs, our appeal is for children to present themselves at the new schools in the safe areas to continue studying,” he concluded.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been plagued since 2017 by the actions of armed groups described by the authorities and external entities as terrorists.
The insurgency led to a military response a year ago with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), freeing districts next to natural gas projects in the province, but new waves of violence emerged in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula.
In five years, the conflict has displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and killed around 4,000, according to the ACLED conflict registry project.

Source: Lusa