In Mozambique, four out of every 100 children in the third grade of general education cannot read and write, a figure that corresponds to 4.5 percent.

This is one of the conclusions of a study commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH) and which will be released at the World Summit on Education, to be held in September in New York, under the slogan "Transfusing Education".

The fact was announced by the vice president of the Education for All Movement (MEPT) Amina Issa, during the presentation of the study on the situation of education in Mozambique.

Issa characterizes the situation as a dilemma, stressing that "education in Mozambique is not good.

"When we have four out of 100 children who cannot read or write in the third grade, what do we expect as future leaders? What do we expect as pillars for the development of this country?" he inquired. Therefore, he believes that the education authorities must take urgent action to reverse the current statistics.

"These children need to read, write and complete what are the basic skills for their development," he said.

"We, as civil society, work in partnership with the government and we are happy that we are being consulted to give our inputs and what our positions are for that world summit because we feel that we are part of the solution," he said.

With a two-year periodicity, the study assesses the reading and writing proficiency for school-age children. Issa believes that the education sector in the country needs a lot of support and work.

"We have advanced some aspects. The first is the issue of the teacher and his valorization. We feel, as the Education for All Movement, that the teacher is the key to any education," he stressed.

The source pointed out as one of the strategies teacher motivation, salary increase, improvement of working conditions, including infrastructure. The issue of the teacher/student ratio in the classroom is another obstacle that prevents teachers from transmitting knowledge to students.

"We have a ratio of 62 students per teacher/class, and that doesn't help. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that it is possible for us to lower this ratio," he said.

Another strategy has to do with funding for education.

"Generally speaking, so far, the money that comes in for the sector, 95 percent is spent on administrative expenses and not on new investments," he said.

The vice president advocated increasing the budget so that education reaches the children, so that they have desks, books and adequate conditions to learn. (News, via AIM)