Maputo — Over 100 schools in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado were unable to open on Monday for the start of the 2021 school year, but only in one district, Mocimboa da Praia, was the educational network completely shut down, thanks to the impact of islamist terrorism.
“We have 940 schools in the province at various levels of education”, said Melchior Patricio, spokesperson for the Provincial Directorate of Education, cited in Tuesday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”. But some of the schools were closed as a direct result of terrorist attacks, and others because pupils and their families have abandoned the area because of the military instability.
Only 804 schools are reopening, said Patricio. “Muidumbe district has 14 schools, and only three are reopening”, he continued. “In Macomia, 15 out of the 21 existing schools will function, and in Quissanga, five out of 37. So far none of the 37 schools in Mocimboa da Praia are opening”.
Patricio said that, during the terrorist raids, many school archives had been completely destroyed, as well as their computer equipment.
He said that pupils displaced from their original homes are being integrated into schools in the areas where they have been resettled – some in parts of Cabo Delgado that have not come under attack, and others in neighbouring provinces.
“So that the pupils may have their documents, including certificates, we have sent a proposal to the Education Ministry to set up special groups consisting of teachers and some parents in order to try and recover the lost archives”, Patricio added.