Introduction
S1 This is one of nine country studies being carried out as part of the mid-term
evaluation of the Education for All (EFA) Fast Track Initiative (FTI). The FTI was launched in
2002 by a partnership of donors and recipient countries to "accelerate progress towards the
core EFA goal of universal primary school completion (UPC), for boys and girls alike, by
2015". The FTI has now been running for half its expected lifetime. The FTI partnership has
commissioned an independent evaluation to see whether it is achieving the goals it has set
itself.
S2 The evaluation is taking place between November 2008 and December 2009. A
Preliminary Report was made available for the FTI Partnership Meetings in Copenhagen in
April 2009, and the full draft report will be submitted in October 2009. A full explanation of
the evaluation, its methodology and its timetable is provided in the Evaluation Framework,
available from the study website at www.camb-ed.com/fasttrackinitiative.
The Context for FTI in Mozambique
S3 Since independence in 1975, Mozambique has faced various challenges in
education. The initial challenges of an increasing demand for education, without the
necessary capacity to respond to these demands, gave way to the need to continuously
provide education during 16 years of war. Today, the challenges are of a different nature,
particularly regarding quality of primary education and provision of education at secondary
level.
S4 A series of education plans have been developed, the first Education Sector
Strategic Plan (ESSP) covered the period 1999–2005, while the second Strategic Plan for
Education and Culture (PEEC) is from 2006–2010/11. The first plan focused on three key
strategic areas which were a) access; b) quality; and c) capacity building. The second plan
was more comprehensive, covering the entire education sector, although it prioritised
primary education for all. It sought to address a) extending access to all school age children;
b) providing educational opportunities for out of school youth and adults; and c) improving
quality and relevance to ensure that increasing numbers of children have access to
post-primary levels. Higher education and culture were also included in the second strategic
plan as result of their merging with the Ministry of Education.
S5 Between 1999 and 2005, the period of implementation of ESSP I, the primary gross
school enrolment ratio has increased from 70% to 105%, with the primary grade one intake
ratio increasing by 17% in 2005. This was due to the growing demand for education and was
supported by the abolition of school fees by the government in 2005 and the introduction of a
new curriculum with free textbooks and school supplies. Gender disparities have also fallen
with girls’ access to the first grade of primary school increasing in relation to boys.
S6 More children are also completing primary school and repetition rates are falling.
There was a primary completion rate of 42% in 2006 which is a significant improvement over
1999 when it was 14%. Until 2004 the number of repeaters at primary level was 25%, which
fell to 10% and 5% in 2005 and 2006 respectively. This was the result of a semi-automatic
promotion policy in basic education which was introduced in 2004, within the framework of a
new curriculum for primary education.