Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef

The system is faced with a number of challenges, particularly the lack of appropriately
qualified and experienced teacher educators and limited resources of the CFPPs,
which mean that they lack the capacity to produce the desired results. Materials are
often out of date and students complete their three years of training without any
exposure to new teaching methodologies.
A major objective of the ECSP is to improve the quality and efficiency of both preservice
and in-service teacher training through ensuring a coordinated, coherent
system of pre-service training and the provision of continuous in-service support
and training for all teachers. From 2007, a new Teacher Training Strategy will be
adopted, implying a new model of teacher training, designed to respond to the rapidly
increasing demand for teachers:
- 10 th Grade + 1 Year (of professional training) - for EP level teachers.
- 12 th Grade + 1 year (of professional training) - for ESG levels teachers.
e. Lack of female teachers
School drop-out is a particular problem among girls, attributed to various factors,
including cultural factors such as early marriage, the lower priority afforded to girls’
education, and household roles which often mean that girls are more likely to drop out
to take care of younger siblings, parents or relatives in the case of illness. Evidence
indicates that there are several benefits to increasing the ratio of female to male
teachers in terms of the impact on retention of girls in school. Women teachers not
only provide valuable role models to young girls to encourage them to continue with
their education, but also lessen the probability of abuse of learners. It is also good
for boys to see women in a professional role. In 2005, however, only 31 per cent of
all EP1 teachers were women and 23 per cent at EP2 level. Significant disparities
between provinces were evident: in Cabo Delgado only 8 per cent of teachers at EP2
level were women, compared to 38 per cent in Maputo City (MEC 2005).
(v) Violence and abuse in schools
The prevalence of violence, sexual abuse and harassment in schools has been
identified by parents as a factor influencing their decision to send their children to
school, and particularly for girls, as a factor influencing their attendance. The situation
in relation to abuse in Mozambican schools is documented in Chapter V.
In 2003, the Ministry of Education issued a decree (Despacho 39/GM/2003),
stressing the importance of the values of education and the morale of the school and
consequently banning teachers from having sexual relations with female students.
The forthcoming Children’s Act also reaffirms the duty of school management to
report to the relevant authorities any cases of mistreatment of learners (RM 2006:
23). It is clear, however, that there is a need for increased awareness of this issue,
among, learners, teachers, school principals and communities. A strong stance should
be taken by school principals, including speaking out against violence and abuse,
taking disciplinary actions against teachers involved in cases of abuse, establishing
monitoring systems, and encouraging increased involvement of parents in the
functioning of the school, with the support of School Councils.
160 CHILDHOOD POVERTY IN MOZAMBIQUE: A SITUATION AND TRENDS ANALYSIS