Mozambique: Grindrod supports the community of Sibaccuse, in Marracuene
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A 6th Grade Social Sciences textbook is sparking general indignation at the amount of errors it contains, once again raising concern about the quality of education in the country. The new book, edited by Portuguese publishing house Porto Editora, arrived in the country a few days ago, after five months of waiting.
The festival of errors begins on page 48, where “ancient kingdoms and empires” are discussed. The book, prepared by Firoza Bicá, states that Great Zimbabwe, between 1250 and 1450, had as its limits to the north the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which are located in northeast Africa and separate the African continent from the Asian continent, while Great Zimbabwe “flourished” in the territories which today correspond to Mozambique (Manica region) and Zimbabwe (the large part of the territory).
On page 59, the same textbook considers Mozambique part of East Africa, along with Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, so that, on page 78, the Southern Africa region appears to consist of only five countries: South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia.
To make matters worse, the book does not provide any explanation about the possible changes that may have occurred to dictate the departure of Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi from the group of Southern African countries.
On page 121, the same manual illustrates the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique with a photograph of the National Assembly of Angola.
MINEDH apologises
Faced with the chorus of indignation and jibes from all corners of the country, the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH) on Sunday afternoon summoned the press to give its version of the story.
First, the institution led by Carmelita Rita Namashulua began by apologising, and then announced the production of an erratum and the constitution of a Commission of Inquiry to determine the responsibilities.
“We know that the fact that the book was in the possession of students, teachers and/or guardians may have created some embarrassment and, for this reason, the Ministry of Education and Human Development apologises,” said Gina Guibunda, spokesperson for the institution.
According to Guibunda, the errors were found during a review of the contents by teachers, managers and pedagogical technicians at the Ministry, a procedure which, according to her, is carried out whenever new books are received.
Guibunda told journalists that the Ministry would produce an erratum to correct the errors found in the book, and said that the institution would verify the contents of all the books produced.
The production of the errata, Guibunda said, would not incur any additional costs to the Ministry, because it would be just one page, sent electronically to school administrators, who would be responsible for printing it and distributing it to teachers and students.
The Commission of Inquiry will be led by the General Inspectorate of Public Administration, with the participation of the MINEDH Inspectorate. Guibunda was unable to say how long this would take, due to the complexity of the matter.
The MINEDH spokeswoman downplayed the scale of the problem, noting that the content has not yet been taught. “I want to reassure parents that this content has not yet been taught. When the time comes, the errata will certainly be in the possession of the teachers, and from this they will be able to lead the teaching and learning process,” she said.
But how is the book produced?
Guibunda explained that the production process of school books follows several stages, including the submission of the book’s contents to an Evaluation Committee, made up of technicians from MINEDH, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and university professors. This body has the duty to issue an opinion on the contents contained in the manuals and propose changes, if necessary.
“The production of the book follows several stages. One of them is the launch of an editorial consultancy contracting competition. This publishing house hires authors, content reviewers, illustrators, modellers, in short… it hires all those who are necessary for the production of the book. Afterwards, the book is submitted for evaluation, where a report is prepared by the respective [Evaluation] Committee with specific recommendations for each book and for each content. This report and these recommendations are sent for editorial advice. Afterwards, the publishers enter the observations and then it is sent to the Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento. Afterwards, the book is submitted for evaluation, where a report is prepared by the respective [Evaluation] Committee with specific recommendations for each book and for each content. This report and these recommendations are sent for editorial advice. Afterwards, the publishers enter the observations and then it is sent to the National Institute for the Development of Education and then it is verified whether or not there is any further issue to be corrected and, finally, it goes to print. So the process involves many actors,” Guibunda explained.
That the 6th grade Social Sciences book went through all these stages and still reached the students’ hands with errors some considered to be a ruse. “Therefore, this Commission of Inquiry is what will help us to understand where there has been a failure. At this moment, it is not possible to say if the fault was the evaluators, the authors, the Commission or who,” the spokeswoman said.
Regardless of the Inquiry Commission’s findings, the Book Evaluation Commission would be revised in order to provide it with greater capacity for analysis in all areas.
And what is the future of this textbook?
“The book will not be thrown away. A huge investment was made in relation to the book. This year, the errata will be a separate document, because the book is already with the students and teachers. However, when the book is reprinted, the corrections that have been identified will be incorporated,” Guibinda explained, without revealing the amount spent in the production of the faulty manual.
For this year, MINEDH printed 941,700 Grade 6 Social Science books.
The production of school books for free distribution has, over the years, been a topic of debate, due to suspicions of corruption.
By Abilio Maolela
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