Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef
Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef
Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef
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the ECSP, between 1999 <strong>and</strong> 2005, the percentage of pupils study<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> precarious<br />
classrooms or without a classroom rema<strong>in</strong>ed stable at 56 per cent. There is a<br />
particular shortage of secondary schools <strong>in</strong> the country: the 2005 Jo<strong>in</strong>t Review of<br />
Government <strong>and</strong> donor performance reported that the number of children who<br />
completed primary education exceeded the exist<strong>in</strong>g vacancies <strong>in</strong> secondary schools<br />
by 70,000 (GoM <strong>and</strong> PAP, 2006). Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to displacement of children from primary-level classrooms to allow secondary-level<br />
classes to be taught.<br />
Although the Government has made considerable efforts to accelerate school<br />
construction, through the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Education <strong>and</strong> Culture school construction<br />
programme <strong>and</strong> the mobilisation of community <strong>and</strong> donor resources, construction<br />
is expensive <strong>and</strong> poorly monitored, lead<strong>in</strong>g to quality concerns. In order to address<br />
this problem, a low cost construction policy was approved <strong>in</strong> 2005 <strong>and</strong> the Education<br />
<strong>and</strong> Culture Strategic Plan envisages build<strong>in</strong>g 4,100 primary classrooms per year<br />
through community-managed construction at a cost of no more than US$12,000 per<br />
classroom, with the aim of reduc<strong>in</strong>g the learner-classroom ratio from 90:1 to 78:1<br />
(MEC 2006: 20). This model is currently be<strong>in</strong>g piloted <strong>and</strong> 618 primary schools were<br />
built <strong>in</strong> 2005 (see Box 4.3: “Lessons learned <strong>and</strong> recommendations from the first<br />
phase of the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Education <strong>and</strong> Culture Accelerated School Construction<br />
programme”).<br />
Many of the exist<strong>in</strong>g school build<strong>in</strong>gs are <strong>in</strong> a state of disrepair, without roofs,<br />
w<strong>in</strong>dows, desks, chairs or electricity. Temporary solutions have often been used to<br />
keep students under shelter until proper classrooms can be built. As noted <strong>in</strong><br />
Chapter III, a serious concern is the lack of water <strong>and</strong> sanitation facilities <strong>in</strong> the<br />
majority of schools, which can have a detrimental impact on children’s health, <strong>and</strong><br />
prevents girls from conduct<strong>in</strong>g their sanitary needs <strong>in</strong> dignity <strong>and</strong> privacy. In 2005,<br />
an estimated 70 per cent of schools were without water <strong>and</strong> sanitation facilities. In<br />
addition, the majority of schools have no health programmes or facilities.<br />
Box 4.3: Lessons learned <strong>and</strong> recommendations from the first phase of the<br />
MEC Accelerated School Construction programme<br />
• Private sector companies did not apply dur<strong>in</strong>g the bidd<strong>in</strong>g process because the<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial ceil<strong>in</strong>gs were too low<br />
• NGO participation was low due to poor communication about the programme<br />
• Most of the schools were thus built by the communities<br />
• The f<strong>in</strong>ancial ceil<strong>in</strong>gs needed to be revised accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>flation <strong>and</strong> the<br />
differ<strong>in</strong>g levels of accessibility to schools<br />
• The time frame for school construction should be six months <strong>in</strong>stead of three<br />
• Technical assistance <strong>in</strong> the communities needs to be efficient <strong>and</strong> consistent<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g the entire process of school construction<br />
• There is a need to ensure or create capacity <strong>in</strong> the prov<strong>in</strong>ces <strong>and</strong> districts to<br />
manage the programme<br />
• MEC needs to dissem<strong>in</strong>ate <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> better communicate the<br />
programme <strong>and</strong> its objectives <strong>in</strong> order to attract potential partners.<br />
Source: MEC: Documento número 10/RAR7, April 2006<br />
c. Lack of teachers<br />
The lack of teachers has led to a rapid <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> learner-teacher ratios <strong>in</strong> recent<br />
years. In 2005 the learner-teacher ratio was 74:1, up from 65:1 <strong>in</strong> 2000. There were<br />
significant disparities between prov<strong>in</strong>ces, with the learner-teacher ratio rang<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
59:1 <strong>in</strong> Maputo Prov<strong>in</strong>ce to 103:1 <strong>in</strong> Zambezia prov<strong>in</strong>ce. Such large classes have led<br />
CHILDHOOD POVERTY IN MOZAMBIQUE: A SITUATION AND TRENDS ANALYSIS<br />
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