Educaçao - or lack thereof

Nerd Alert! If you know me at all (which of course you do because you’re reading this) you know that I have a tendency to nerd out a bit. So this post will not be about the beaches or beers or festas. It’s going to be about school.

Similar to the United States, Mozambique has twelve grades divided between Primary School (1^st – 7^th grade) and Secondary School (8^th-12^th grade). Primary school is mandatory and free, however families are responsible for buying uniforms, notebooks and pencils. Secondary school is not mandatory and a small fee is required.

The primary school attendance rate for both boys and girls is roughly 77%. After seventh grade this number drops to 22% for girls, and 25% for boys. 

Of the even fewer number that graduate from secondary school, are my students.

My school is an IFP – Instituto Formaçao dos Professores – It’s a Teacher Training Institute. However, it is not a University. To enter the IFP, students need to pass 10^th grade, an entrance exam, and an interview. Several students may graduate from 12^th grade, but it’s not necessary.

Our school is a three year program- the first two years are spent doing general studies plus pedagogical theory and the third is a practicum. At the end of the three years they earn a 10+3 degree. It’s not the equivalent of a high school diploma, but many consider it more important because it is a certificate that makes them eligible to teach primary school.

That’s right, teachers for 1^st- 7^th grade do not have to set foot in a University.

I expected most teachers not to have degrees: class sizes are too big and there aren’t enough qualified teachers to go around. However, I did not expect this to be an accepted government policy.

I think at this point I’m just going to keep my opinion about this policy to myself. I don’t know Mozambique well enough yet. Maybe it is possible to educate an entire country with only a 10^th grade education…

Maybe I am too idealistic…

Love love love

Teacher Rayna