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The education sector in Mozambique – from access to epistemic quality in primary education
On 18 November 2020, Mouzinho Mário, Professor at the University of Eduardo Mondlane, will discuss his research on access and epistemic quality of primary education in Mozambique.
The presentation is based on the WIDER Working Paper ‘The education sector in Mozambique – From access to epistemic quality in primary education’ elaborated as part of the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) study under the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme. The paper is part of the draft report of the MID study.
The MID study is part of the international research programme Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) funded by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and is managed through a partnership with multiple organisations including Oxford Policy Management (OPM), Paris School of Economics, Centre de Recherche en Économie de Développement (CRED), the University of Namur, and Aide á la Décision Économique (ADE).
The presentation will be in Portuguese.
The seminar will be held as a hybrid event, so one can join either in-person or virtually. To participate in the in-person discussion, please join us at 14:00-15:00 at Hotel Montebelo Girassol, Patrice Lumumba Avenue, Maputo.
If you prefer to participate in the event virtually, please send a request to igmozambique@wider.unu.edu and we will share the Zoom link of the virtual meeting with you.
The presentation slides and the recording will be shared with the seminar participants soon after the event.
About the research
From the early days of national independence in 1975, the central aim of the educational policy in Mozambique has been to ensure that all school-age children have access to school and can remain there until they have completed their basic education. In the pursuit of this aim, the extension of access to primary education was achieved relatively successfully, given that it reached a net rate of school coverage of almost 100 per cent. However, the impressive increase in school attendance rates has not been accompanied by a corresponding improvement in the quality of learning, and there are worrying signs of a considerable setback in relation to this aspect. Using this observation as a starting point, the study identifies and analyses the variables in the institutional context behind ‘schooling without learning’. The results of the study point to (i) weak state capacity; (ii) excessive dependence on external aid; and (iii) poor community involvement and participation in school management, as being factors with a major influence on the poor quality of education in primary schools.
About the MID Seminar Series
The MID Seminar Series offers a forum for the presentation and in-depth discussion of thematic studies and results developed as part of the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) study. Elaborated by key specialists in their fields, the topics covered by the studies include decentralization, education, natural resources, and the rule of law in Mozambique.