Angola

Of the estimated 2.5 million Angolan children of preschool age, fewer than twenty thousand attend preschools or day care centers. Preschools were established in 1977 and the government considers them important to compensate for home environments not conducive to early learning. Primary education is made up of three levels; the first is theoretically compulsory and lasts four years. The second and third levels last two years each. There continues to be a severe shortage of schools for Angolan youth, and the government estimates that 60 percent of the school facilities have been destroyed or are in disrepair. Most primary school students can only receive three hours of instruction a day because the schools operate two or three shifts daily. Lack of qualified teachers continues to be an acute problem, as well as high dropout rates, low attendance rates, and promotion rates below 50 percent. Instructional materials, equipment, and even desks and chairs are limited in many areas. Most schooling is only available in provincial capitals because rural areas have been especially hard hit by intense fighting. But even in the nation's capital, Luanda, schools cannot keep up with demand. On February 7, 2001, the start of the new school year in Angola, 45,000 students were to enroll in Luandan schools. The city could only accept 5,000 of them. As many as 100,000 students (primary and secondary) study at private schools in Luanda, but the cost is crippling for most residents.