From shade trees to classrooms

Learning in rural Mozambique's primary schools was always a little tricky in the rainy season: when the wind and rain blew sideways through the stick walls of a traditional schoolhouse, it forced the children to huddle together on one side of the building. And with no chairs or desks, they sat on the dirt as they learned their lessons.

And they were the lucky ones: other children had no classrooms, so when the sun was shining, they were taught under the shade of big trees that grow in the schoolyard. When it rained, the lesson was over.

But now, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), more and more children in these communities sit on a chair and at a desk inside brand-new schoolhouses that have solid walls and a watertight roof.

''The children no longer have to learn under the trees,'' says Idito Malorrguete, one of five teachers at the school in the village of Bambatela, which serves 381 students―more girls than boys―in the province of Inhambane. ''And now, when the rains come, the student are sheltered―and we use the eavestrough on the new schoolhouse to collect drinking water.''

The new schoolhouse has not only made learning more comfortable for students, it has also allowed more of them to attend school. When the Bambetela school began, it offered only Grades 1-5; now students can attend Grades 6 and 7 here, avoiding a long trip to another school 30 km down the road. The construction of the new schoolhouse and the renovation of an existing building has increased enrolment here by 75 percent.

Another issue affecting enrolment is student pregnancies. When a girl becomes pregnant, she is likely to drop out of school, never to return. One of the aims of this CIDA-funded education project is to increase girls' access to education―including those with children. School staff receive training in how to encourage parents to send their daughters back to school after giving birth. Parents are told that they―or the grandparents―should help care for the baby while the girl returns to school. The main message is that getting an education is key to escaping a life of poverty for young mothers.

More buildings are also under construction at Bambetela to house teachers and those who will train the teachers. The building project is being implemented by the Mozambican non-governmental organization Foundation for Community Development, which was begun by renowned humanitarian Graça Machel.

However, good school buildings are only part of what's required to educate children properly: they need proper schoolbooks too. Since 2004, CIDA has provided 90 million textbooks and workbooks for a growing number of primary school pupils and teachers (reaching close to 5 million in 2009). Based on a curriculum established by Mozambique's Ministry of Education and Culture, these books, written in the country's national language, Portuguese, are updated versions that deal more appropriately with the issues of equality between women and men, HIV/AIDS, and the environment.

These projects are just two of several that CIDA is supporting in a wide-ranging effort to improve primary education in Mozambique. CIDA is also providing direct support to Mozambique's Education Sector Support Fund which is improving access to education as well as the quality of education available nation-wide. All of these projects help contribute to the achievement of Millennium Goal #2―universal primary education.

As a result of these efforts, and those of other donors, net primary school enrolment rates in Mozambique have increased from 57 percent in 2002 to an unprecedented 80 percent in 2008.