Since independence from Portugal in 1975, school construction and teacher-training enrollments have not kept up with population increases. Especially after the Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992), with post-war enrollments reaching all time highs due to stability and youth population growth, the quality of education has suffered.
All Mozambicans are required by law to attend school through the primary level; however, a lot of children in Mozambique do not go to primary school because they have to work for their families’ subsistence farms for a living. In 2007, one million children still did not go to school because most of them come from poor rural families, and almost half of all teachers in Mozambique were still unqualified.
Girls’ enrollment increased from 3 million in 2002 to 4.1 million in 2006 while the completion rate increased from 31,000 to 90,000, which testified a very poor completion rate.
After grade 7, pupils must take standardised national exams to enter secondary school, which runs from eighth to 10th grade. Space in Mozambican universities is extremely limited; thus most pupils who complete pre-university school do not immediately proceed on to university studies. Many go to work as teachers or are unemployed.
There are also institutes which give more vocational training, specialising in agricultural, technical or pedagogical studies, which students may attend after grade 10 in lieu of a pre-university school.
After independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Mozambican pupils continued to be admitted every year at Portuguese high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities, through bilateral agreements between the Portuguese government and the Mozambican government.
According to 2010 estimates, the literacy rate of Mozambique was 56.1% (70.8% male and 42.8% female). By 2015, this had increased to 58.8% (73.3% male and 45.4% female).
