Education Ministry says Grade 2 textbooks are already in Mozambique

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Education Ministry says Grade 2 textbooks are already in Mozambique

1:44 CAT | 25 Jul 2024

Photo: O País

MINEDH says Grade 2 textbooks are already in the country but doesn’t know when they will reach schools

The Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH) says that Grade 2 school textbooks are already in the country, six months after the start of the school year and less than three weeks before the end of the second quarter.

The guarantee was given by spokesperson Manuel Simbine who told a press conference yesterday that the textbooks were being unloaded at the Port of Maputo and would be distributed to schools over the next few days.

The fact is that students have, since the beginning of the year, had only their notebooks and whatever their teachers have been able to improvise in order for them to learn and study.

“In the coming days, we may have better information to share because data needs to be collected. One needs to go to the field. The important thing is that the textbooks have arrived and the trucks are there. The dates depend on the circulation flow, as the process is complex,” Simbine said.

Simbine had previously said that the books were in the country in March, in an exclusive interview with ‘O País’, and that the books were already distributed to an extent of more than 60%, even at the time claiming that the books had been printed in the country.

At yesterday’s press conference, MINEDH also addressed the issue of overtime, which teachers are still claiming for the years 2022 and 2023. Simbine gave assurances that payments were being made, but with delays due to verification processes.

“To pay overtime, one must first go through a verification and validation process,” Simbine said. “At this moment, based on the information we have from the work team, we are in the process of finalising the payment of overtime for the year 2022 and then the payment process for 2023 will begin – always accompanied by the verification and validation process.”

The source explained that the process is gradual and it may happen that, in the same school, some teachers have already received it and others have not yet. He clarified that the Ministry of Economy and Finance was in charge of the process, paying directly into the teachers’ accounts once overtime hours were verified and validated.

ALSO READ: Mozambique: Teachers’ overtime being paid, claims minister

Regarding schools’ debts for water and energy, Simbine said that they had all been paid and the supply has resumed, but without being able to give an overall figure, adding that he also had no information about the amount of overtime pay owed to teachers by the Ministry of Education and Human Development.

Source: O País