Mozambique: MINEDH says investment in the Education sector is weak – O País

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Mozambique: MINEDH says investment in the Education sector is weak – O País

7:40 CAT | 15 Jun 2021

Photo: União Europeia em Moçambique on Facebook

Investment in education in Mozambique has fallen in the last two years, according to civil society platform Education for All. Minister for Education and Human Development Carmelita Namashulua says that the sector does not receive enough for its needs from the government.

The Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH), civil society, the European Union and other government partners came together in Maputo this Monday to launch the Global Action Week for Education. This year, the focus is mainly on education funding.

Gaspar Sitefane, president of the Education for All Movement, called on the government and other cooperation partners to pay more attention to the sector.

“Notwithstanding the fact that, in the period from 2019 to 2021, there was a budget increase for the education sector, we are concerned about the continuous decrease in investment expenses,” Sitefane said.

According to Minister Namashulua, Mozambique still has 9,776 classes held outdoors and 20,000 classrooms of precarious build, a scenario aggravated by the cyclones which devastated the centre of the country recently.

Armed attacks in Manica and Sofala, as well as terrorism in some districts of Cabo Delgado, have also rendered education in the country more precarious, with the destruction of educational infrastructure.

The Minister of Education and Human Development said 46 schools had been destroyed in the province, putting the education of 30,000 children at risk.

Namashulua said that the executive was striving to address the needs of the sector, with 23.9% of the annual state budget allocated to the education sector.

“The government mobilised, and continues to mobilise, resources in order to proceed with the construction of classrooms in the short, medium and long term,” Namashulua reported.

Also read: Egesse crosses the river every day to go to school in Mozambique – Lusa

The ambassador of the European Union in Mozambique, António Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar, in turn guaranteed continued support for the education sector in Mozambique. “We are committed to supporting emergency programmes in response to Covid-19 and to rebuild and rehabilitate more than 350 classrooms, and 52 accommodation units for teachers in Sofala and Cabo Delgado provinces,” he said.

The Week of Global Action for Education takes place under the motto “One Billion Voices”.

By Amandio Borges

Source: O Pais