Introduction [TJ]

5. INTERNET PARA AS ESCOLAS IN MOZAMBIQUE

Ephraim Siluma, Daniel Browde and Nicky Roberts

Area: 799 330 sq km Provinces: 10 Capital: Maputo Population: 17.5m (est. 2001) Age: 46% of pop <15 yrs^194 Urbanization: 71% rural Illiteracy: 60, 5% of adult pop. Life expectancy:^195 42 yrs (F: 44 M: 41) Active labor: 36% of pop.^196 Official language: Portuguese Telecommunications: Landlines: 78 072 (2001)^197 Mobiles: 101 000 (November 2001)^198 No. of School Children (1994-97)^199 Primary 60% of school going children Secondary 7% of school going children	M OZAMBIQUE IN BRIEF
Evaluation Survey Sample size: No of schools: 4 secondary pre-university schools and 2 industrial institutes No of interviews / questionnaires: 27 (12 completed questionnaires) Period of evaluation: October – December 2000
Project Information Name of Project: Internet para as Escolas Duration: 1998 – 2001 IDRC contribution: CAD$ 437 855 Implementing Agency: Centre for Informatics University of Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM), Maputo, Mozambique Partners: IDRC and World Bank (WorLD Links for Development) Beneficiaries: 350 Teachers and 4 680 Learners

5.1 Country Context

5.1.1 Socio-Political Background

The Wars and their Effects

Between 1964 and 1974, Mozambicans were engaged in an armed war that led to their declared independence on the 25^th June 1975. This was followed by a protracted civil war between the two parties, FRELIMO and RENAMO. The wars left the country’s infrastructure in ruins and in many ways affected the lives of the ordinary people of Mozambique. Many buildings and roads in the cities of Maputo, Nampula, Quelimane and Beira bear evidence of many years of neglect. Services such as electricity, telephone and water supply are still not always reliable

Education was also heavily disrupted. As education reflected the political and ideological line of FRELIMO, schools were major targets of destabilization by RENAMO. The report of the Central Committee of FRELIMO to the Fifth Congress in 1989 indicates that more than 2 655 schools, amounting to 45% of the whole primary school network, had been closed or destroyed. At the lower primary schooling level - the most affected by the war – 807 926 pupils and 12 515 teachers were affected between 1982 and 1989. The war drove thousands of people from the countryside to the cities, which further affected schools in the cities. Between 1983 and 1992, approximately 60% of the junior primary school infrastructure catering for 1 414 222 pupils and 18% of senior primary school infrastructure catering for 13 266 pupils were disrupted by the war.²⁰⁰
The civil war ended in 1992 and the first multi-party elections were held in 1994. At the end of the war, Mozambique was classified as the poorest country in the world. However, it soon became a country with the highest economic growth rate in Africa. It is estimated that its economy is the fastest growing one in the continent, at the rate of 10% per annum. However, Mozambique remains extremely poor. About 50% of its public expenditure is covered through aid and loans. The education budget in 1999 was 14% of state budget, of which 26% was for higher education expenditure.²⁰¹
The floods that hit large parts of Mozambique in late 1999 and early 2000 badly affected the lives of the people of Mozambique and undoubtedly set back development. The Situation Report of 2 August 2000, showed that the floods affected 760 000 people directly or indirectly; over 534 900 people were displaced and 132 600 families left homeless. It was also mentioned in the report that:
“In qualitative terms, the destruction did not spare public infrastructure, notably access to roads, water supply, sanitation and drainage system, protection dykes and other equipment.” ²⁰²
A number of schools in various provinces were badly affected. For example, the report received on the 31 July 2000 from Gaza showed that 245 schools were damaged, affecting 74 830 pupils and 1 031 teachers. In the same province, two boarding schools with 958 pupils were destroyed while 46 literacy centers with 2 786 learners were also unusable.²⁰³ In Sofala province 98 schools in Buzi, Chibabava and Machanga districts were destroyed. These included 57 schools built of conventional materials and 41 built of mud and wattle. The total number of teachers and pupils affected in these schools at the time was 24 067 pupils and 329 teachers respectively.²⁰⁴
The floods may not have directly impacted on the project, but had the potential to divert government attention from supporting projects such as the Internet para as Escolas, to taking care of the emergency of relocating the displaced victims of the floods.