Mozambique: Education ministry will not annul school year

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Mozambique: Education ministry will not annul school year

5:03 CAT | 28 Apr 2020

Photo: O País

The Mozambican Ministry of Education has said it will not annul the 2020 academic year, despite the closure of all schools in order to fight the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

The schools were closed on 23 March, and a state of emergency took effect on 1 April. It is not yet clear whether the government will extend the state of emergency for a second month – but, even if it does, the Education Ministry insists that the 2020 school year is not lost.

Cited by the independent television station STV, the Ministry’s spokesperson, Gina Guibunda, claimed that the distance learning classes via television, radio and electronic platforms have proved successful.

If the state of emergency is extended, she said, “we shall continue to provide our classes, using all these platforms”.

The problem with attempting to teach primary and secondary school students by radio or television is the impossibility of knowing how many of the children are really following the classes.

“It’s true that we have a challenge in ascertaining whether, in reality, our pupils have been doing the homework, and how many are really studying”, admitted Guibunda.

Furthermore, only a minority of households have televisions, let alone internet access, and even radio does not reach the entire country. So how can children living in remote areas possibly keep up their studies during the state of emergency?

Guibunda said that teachers have gone in small groups to the schools, where they drew up exercises for the pupils and support texts. They then contacted the parents to collect them and give them to their children.

Asked about mistakes made by the teachers giving classes by radio or television, Guibunda thought this was quite normal. “Teachers know that even when they are not in front of a camera, they can occasionally make mistakes”, she said. “People who work make mistakes”.

As for teachers’ wages, Guibunda said that during the state of emergency all teachers are receiving their full wages, without any discounts.

Source: AIM