Premature marriages & initiation rites: Nearly 73,000 drop-out of school in Niassa – Mozambique

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Premature marriages & initiation rites: Nearly 73,000 drop-out of school in Niassa – Mozambique

12:00 CAT | 26 Jul 2017

In 2016, nearly 73,000 students dropped out of school in Niassa province, northern Mozambique, owing to premature marriage and initiation rites.

According to Niassa Provincial Director of Education and Human Development Faustino Amino, quoted on Monday by the newspaper Notícias, of the 401,552 students enrolled last year only 328,670 reached the end of the school year.

Faustino Amino said that the situation had been improving in the current school year, but warned that it was necessary that the population was “made aware of the importance of education for minors, especially in the most remote areas”.

“Marriages are important for moral and social stability, but should involve adults and should occur after the prospective parents graduate,” he said. The fight against children dropping out of children should involve all stakeholders, especially parents and community leaders.

In addition to premariture marriages and initiation rites, nomadism was also seen as a factor in Niassa where, according to provincial government figures, 15 out of every 100 students leave before the end of the school year.