Mozambique - Educational System—overview

School age Mozambicans (ages 5 through 24 years) make up more than 50 percent of the country's total population. Although primary education is compulsory and free, the national educational system is not yet capable of absorbing all who should be attending primary education (grades one through seven). The government is making concerted efforts to rehabilitate and expand the educational infrastructures and to train staff with a view to responding to the needs and challenges in education.

About 150,000 students attend night classes, technical and professional schools, adult education programs, and private education. There are about 50,000 pupils in primary and secondary private schools (about 2 percent of the number who are studying in the public sector). Approximately 800,000 students attend Higher Education institutions, and of these about two-thirds attend the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. There are 36 teaching weeks in the school calendar. The medium of instruction is Portuguese, and Portuguese is also taught as a subject. Education in Mozambique is under the jurisdiction of the National Education System (Sistema Nacional de Educação or SNE).