ATTENDANCE AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN MOZAMBIQUE
To allow for these developments, a high share of the state budget has been earmarked for education. When compared to the average among low-income and sub-Saharan African countries, Mozambique has spent more on education as a share of total government expenditure and GDP (UNICEF, 2018). In the 2019 budget proposal, the education sector was allocated MZN56.7 billion (US$ 930.4 million5), representing the largest-ever nominal allocation to the sector (UNICEF, 2019: 14). General education (i.e. primary and secondary education) was budgeted to receive MT 47.5 billion. The ratio of general to higher education is 84 per cent to 16 per cent (ibid: 6). In this context, primary education received the largest share of the education budget, which is line with the global recognition that the foundational years are of critical importance for developing better outcomes later in life (Cunha and Heckman, 2010).
The ratio of general to higher education is
84% GENERAL EDUCATION
Mozambique’s national education strategy makes a specific reference to the reduction of gender disparities and to the provision of an education that guarantees inclusion and equity in access to, and retention in, school for all (Education Strategic Plan 2012–2019: 4). An improvement can be observed in the Gender Parity Index (GPI) in school enrolment (ratio of female-to-male value), from 0.83 in 2004 to 0.93 in 2018 (World Bank, 2018); i.e. in the same school year, for every 100 boys enrolled, 92 girls are enrolled. All these positive developments provided opportunities to children who were previously not in school. However, eliminating fees proved to be insufficient to improve educational attainment (Abuya, Oketch and Musyoka, 2013) and ensure gender equality in all educational dimensions. Despite encouraging figures that show progress on closing the gender gap in accessing primary education between 2000 and 2007, gender disparity in attainment persisted. As highlighted in the MINEDH, Revisão de Políticas Educacionais de Moçambique 2019, while 94 per cent of girls in Mozambique enrolled in primary school, more than half dropped out by Grade 5; only 11 per cent continued on to study at the secondary level, and just 1 per cent continued on to college (MINEDH, 2019a: 57; 2020). Pupil absenteeism is another persistent problem of the current system. Although nationwide absenteeism has decreased in the last five years, a recent World Bank study reported that more than half of enrolled pupils were absent on the day of the study visit (World Bank, 2019). The northern and central regions, which include the poorest provinces of Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Tete, Sofala, Nampula and Zambézia, are critically affected. Regional disparities are also highly pronounced in school retention: the dropout rate ranges from 3.4 per cent in Maputo to 16 per cent in Niassa (EMIS/EducStat 2016). These disparities are not surprising given the unequal distribution of educational funding between some northern and southern provinces (UNICEF, 2016; 2018; Van der Berg, da Maia and Burger, 2017). Structural disparities are closely linked to an unequal distribution of wealth (as measured by the asset index): children from wealthier families remain in school longer (Van der Berg, da Maia and Burger, 2017). Thus, school dropout is complex and a hard-toovercome challenge for the Mozambican education system (Mambo et al., 2019; de Walque and Valente, 2016).
5
Based on the average 2019 exchange rate, USD 1 = 60.9 Meticals
21
2018 100 BOYS ENROLLED
92 GIRLS ENROLLED
16% HIGHER EDUCATION
