“Education is the most important thing” – Rebelo de Sousa

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“Education is the most important thing” – Rebelo de Sousa

8:34 CAT | 07 May 2016

Folha de Maputo / Marcelo rebelo de Sousa photographed in a meeting with students in Escola Técnico Profissional São Francisco de Assis, in Marracuene

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday declared that Mozambique is a country with a bright future, but it needs good education in order to produce the skilled staff capable of guaranteeing its social and economic growth.

Speaking to pupils and teachers at Maputo’s Estrela Vermelha secondary school, on the third day of his state visit to Mozambique, Rebelo de Sousa insisted that “education is the most important thing in the world”.

He urged the pupils to study, because not all children and young people in Mozambique have that opportunity.

“Take good advantage of your training”, he told them, “because the objective of education in Mozambique is to form youths who know more, are well prepared for life, not only so that they can find jobs, but in order to serve the country and be useful to other people”.

Asked by the pupils what support Portugal could give to Mozambican education, Rebelo de Sousa said Portugal could contribute with equipment and in teacher training. One pupil asked him if the Portuguese government would be prepared to grant scholarships to study in Portugal for the best students graduating from the Estrela Vermelha school. The Portuguese President said he could make no promises, but would take the suggestion back with him to Lisbon.

Later in the day, after a courtesy visit to Veronica Macamo, the chairperson of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, Rebelo de Sousa said the construction of democracy “is a complex process” and urged that all efforts should be directed towards seeking an effective peace.

The cornerstones for democracy and peace, he told reporters, were the unity of the state, respect for political pluralism, financial rigour and respect for human rights. He stressed that it was also the task of the Executive to ensure that governance is based on healthy and harmonious co-existence between its citizens.

“Governing peoples is not the same as governing numbers”, he said. “Even when the numbers are fundamental from the viewpoint of international organisations or financial markets, those who have political responsibilities know that the important thing is to guarantee the happiness of individuals”.

Rebelo de Sousa stressed that in democracy there must always be a concern to ensure peace, in order to avoid any attempt to return to violence, war and dictatorship. “The worst of democracies is always better than the best of dictatorships”, he added.

For her part, Macamo said that dialogue is the fundamental vehicle for the country to attain effective peace. Referring to the attacks waged by the rebel movement Renamo, she said “it makes no sense for there to be deaths, suffering, and the destruction of property that we want to leave so that our children may have a still brighter future”.

Source: AIM