Mozambique: Almost 200 schools to reopen in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: Almost 200 schools to reopen in Cabo Delgado

8:59 CAT | 13 Jan 2023

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

The provincial directorate of education in Cabo Delgado announced on Thursday the reopening, this academic year, of at least 199 schools affected by the armed conflict in that province, in view of the “improvement of the security environment” in some districts.

“[The process] depends on the security of each region, to the extent that the area is safer, we also reopen some schools,” Manuel Bacar, head of the primary education office in Cabo Delgado, told a press conference in Pemba, the provincial capital.

A total of 229 schools out of 390 in these districts had been closed due to attacks by armed groups, Bacar said, adding that the number of schools reopened could increase.

Schools will reopen in Mocímboa da Praia, Palma, Nangade, Muidumbe, Mueda, Meluco, Macomia, Ibo and Quissanga, districts in northern Cabo Delgado, the region most affected by armed violence.

“It is important to highlight that Muidumbe is an area where the situation is not very good at the moment. There are still terrorist actions, but even so, we will ensure that the schools open,” said Manuel Bacar.

The incursions in hidden places between the districts of Muidumbe and Macomia have gained strength in the last few days, and the local authorities believe they are the result of rebel groups roaming around the region, fleeing the military operations that have been launched by the government forces, with the support of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda.

The official also announced that around 1,870 pupils from five districts of the province could take a “special exam” between the 19th and 20th of this month after their assessment was interrupted in 2022 due to armed attacks.

Cabo Delgado province has faced an armed insurgency for five years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and SADC, liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.

The conflict has left one million people displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and around 4,000 dead, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa