THE MOZAMBIQUE INSTITUTE by Janet Rae Mondlane, Director
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THE MOZAMBIQUE INSTITUTE By Janet Rae Mondlane, Director The story of the struggle for liberation in Mozambique One important aspect of the work being carried out is one of a fight being carried out on all fronts to win in the ~econdary school is the emphasis on trial and ex freedom from the Portuguese colonialists. FRELlMO, the periment in educational methods. The Portuguese educa Mozambique Liberation Front, is not only engaged in tional system is not designed to train Africans to the armed warfare but alSlLrecognises the need to free the degree of responsibility and independe nt thought which minds of the people, and educate them towards the in will be required, so new approaches have to be devised. dependence that will be theirs. Many of the established text books are unsuitable for the new methods, but while the search fo r materials con Educational opportunity had always been limited in tinues, many of the dedicated staff have been w riting Mozambique, to the extent where 97% of the population their own texts, within a framework of constant discus are illiterate, and the possibility of any number of stu sion and trial. Another major problem is the lack of back dents finishing even primary education was remote. A ground of the majority of the students, and to combat mere 2% of children got the chance to go to school at this, cultural and other activities are emphasised, to round all. In 1961, therefore, the idea of an educational centre off the classes in history, geography, civics, mathematics, for young Mozambicans was born, and in September 1964 the Mozambique Institute opened its doors in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The building housed 52 students, and the aim of the Institute was to provide them with tutoring in various subjects so that they could enter the neighbouring English-speaking refugee school, and back ground education taught in Portuguese at secondary school level. There was also a special primary class for the children of Mozambican refugees already in Dar es Salaam. From this relatively small beginning, only four years ago, has spread an enormous network of pro grammes which reach the liberated and semi-liberated areas within Mozambique as well as the various refugee camps in Tanzania and Zambia. There are now basically three programmes emanating from the Mozambique Institute. The secondary school has an enrollment of 121 students and upon completion STUDENTS AT WORK of the current building project, will be able to house a total of 180 students. The courses, taught in Portuguese, science, Portuguese, English, art, and a course on 'How are at the secondary level, and at the moment consist in to Study.' bri~ging the gap which exists between the Portuguese At Bagamoyo, 45 miles from Dar es Salaam, a centre and Tanzanian primary school systems; for while in Tan was established four years ago for the screening of young zania the primary school course covers the first seven Mozambician refugees. Now a primary school is estab years of a child's schooling, in Mozambique it lasts only lished there for the children of Mozambican refugees. four years. But under discussion now are plans for ex The students at the Mozambique Institute spend their tending the classes to include a further two years of holidays helping to construct and improve the school secondary education, and if this plan comes into being bulidings, as part of their practical education in the value students intending to follow technical rather than aca of self-help. demic careers will be able to complete their academic studies with in the Mozambican system. Also at Bagamoyo is an Adm inistrative Training Course, 1 again carried out through the joint efforts of the Mozam 25-1, depending on the density of population in the area, bique Liberation Front and the Mozambique Institute. but even the 250th child in a class is privileged in com This three-month course is the first of its kind for Mozam parison with too many of his or her fellows. bicans, and the graduates will work in the liberated areas of Mozambique. At present 35 adults are enrolled, study Another side to the activities of the Mozambique In ing the history and geography of Mozambique, basic stitute is that concerned with the general health and economic concepts, social structure, the founding polit medical care. We at the Institute feel that an essential ical concepts necessary to an independent nation, and part of any educational programme is to ensure that the simple accountancy. The course is taught by teachers students are healthy, well-nourished, and therefore in from the Mozambique Institute, who thus add an extra the best possible condition to devote themselves to their one and a half teaching days a week to their normal studies. Needless to say, our concern for the welfare of duties. the Mozambican people extends to the population as a whole, and one result of this has been the setting up at A major problem which retards all plans for the ex the Institute of a course to train rural medical aides. One pansion of education is the lack of trained personnel. class has already graduated from this course, and at the Soon to be launched at Bagamoyo is a teacher's training end of June this year's graduates joined their colleagues, course for primary school teachers. The aim of the course who are already working inside Mozambique where is to prepare the teachers for the immense task which medical centres have been set up throughout the liber lies before them, teaching the thousands of Mozambican ated and semi-liberated areas. children within and without Mozambique. The various schools and refugee centres in Tanzania While the primary school at Bagamoyo conducts the have their own health centres too-a Mozambican nurse last two years of the primary school course, at Tunduru, is working full-time in Tunduru, and there is also a clinic in southern Tanzania, is another primary school which at Bagamoyo. These activities are directed from the In emphasises the first two years. A third primary school is stitute by Dr. Martins, a Portuguese Mozambican doctor in the refugee camp at Rutumba. In spite of these efforts, who is head of the medical training and care programme. and the official school for refugees, only a small percent One of his latest projects is the development of a cor age of the total refugee-child population is able to re respondence course for people who cannot leave their ceive formal education. As a result unofficial schools posts, and he also supervises the writing and printing of have been springing up within the camp, teaching in medical books. Portuguese along the lines of the Mozambican system. The teaching is done by a few refugee ex-primary school Although extremely delayed through lack of funds, a teachers, and every effort is being made both to supply new step forward will be taken when the medical build these classes with teaching materials and to bring their ing is opened sometime during this summer. This building syllabi closer to those in use at Bagamoyo and Tunduru. will be the centre of the educational programme, will r.ouse the small clinic, ar:d will be the administrative So far we have only spoken about the efforts being centre for supplying and maintaining all other aid pro made to advance education among Mozambicans within grammes. We hope before long to be able to give rudi Tanzania, but what of the thousands who have stayed in mentary medical services to all the children attending Mozambique? primary schools within liberated Mozambique. 75,000 square miles of Mozambique are now liberated In a country where the population has been denied or semi-liberated, with the population depending entirely educational opportunity for so long, adult literacy train on themselves and FRELIMO for progress in any field. ing is important too. The main problem in this has been Considering the obstacles that have to be faced, an in to decide in which language to teach. There are five credible job is going on; largely stemming from the major language groups in Mozambique, with thirty-five peoples' own efforts. Schools are springing up all over dialects, and although Portuguese is the lingua franca, it the countryside, and although they are often very inade is actually spoken by relatively few of the African popula quate, taught by volunteers who themselves did not tion. When teaching people to read and write, therefore, perhaps finish their education, they are certainly better does one first teach them in their own language, and than the vacuum which would otherwise exist. FRELIMO . leave them to learn Portuguese once they are literate, or and the Mozambique Institute do their best to supply should one try to teach the entirely new lauguage at once these schools with a minimum of equipment, both for -to read, write and speak it? This is a difficult decision teachers and pupils, and hope this year to be able to to make, and though at present the latter system is being expand their efforts. But the scale and intensity of the used on a small scale, it is clear that further study is growth of education can be shown by the fact that in necessary before a full-scale programme can be launched. one district alone 7,000 children are attending 72 primary In the meantime, the Institute is supplying teachers .with schools. The student-teacher ratio ranges from 250-1 to as many general texts and aids as possible. 2 In this brief outline of the multifarious activities of the The amazing feature of the Mozambique Institute is Mozambique Institute I have tried to show how our work that it has financed all its projects entirely on voluntary is aimed at improving the lot of Mozambicans every contributions from governments and organisations.