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Education

There is a relationship the education characteristics of the population, and the demographic dynamic. On the one hand, the rate of growth of the population and its age composition determine the potential demand on the education system. For example, raid growth of the population may be an obstacle to attaining the educational targets laid down. If one intends to increase the enrolment rate, the population growth factor must be combined with the educational needs (number of classrooms needed, based on a particular number of pupils per class, number of teachers and other resources). On the other hand, education has played a key role in the demographic transition, since it is an important determinant of fertility, of marriage patterns, of mortality and of migration. For this reason, education is presented as a characteristic of individuals frequently included in population censuses and demographic surveys..

Table 8.1 shows illiteracy rates by sex, and by area of residence and age. The data show that 60.5% of the population of the country does not know how to read or write. It can also be noted that the illiteracy rate varies with age: the older the age group, the higher the illiteracy rate (despite some fluctuation, in the case of men). This shows that there is a greater opportunity to attend school now than in the past. The data on the table show there is a variation in the rate according to sex: levels of illiteracy among women are far higher than among men: 74.1% against 44.6%, respectively. At the root of this situation is the priority established by parents to educate sons to the detriment of daughters.

According to Table 8.1, there is also a substantial variation in illiteracy rates according to area of residence: the rate in rural areas is 72.2% , and in urban areas it is 33.0%. The age and sex differentials observed in the country as a whole are repeated when areas of residence are looked at; however, the differential by sex in the urban sector is much higher than in the countryside. In the rural sector the percentage of illiterate women is 1.5 times higher that that of illiterate men: in the urban sector it is 2.4 times higher. This means that men benefit more than women from access to education, particularly in the urban sector. One should also stress the high proportion of illiterate women in rural areas: among women aged 40 and above the proportion is higher than 90% .

 

TABLE8.1: Specific rates of illiteracy by  sex, and by area of residence and age, Mozambique

 

Total 60.5 44.6 74.1
    15-19 49.6 38.9 59.2
    20-24 54.8 40.6 65.7
    25-29 57.1 40.1 70.3
    30-39 57.2 36.1 75.4
    40-49 68.3 48.2 86.4
    50-59 76.5 59.8 91.1
    60 + 82.6 70.6 93.7
Urban 33.0 19.4 46.2
    15-19 23.8 19.0 28.8
    20-24 25.6 16.6 33.6
    25-29 27.3 14.7 38.2
    30-39 30.4 12.8 47.8
    40-49 43.3 21.5 66.8
    50-59 54.0 31.5 77.2
    60 + 67.3 45.9 85.2
Rural 72.2 56.4 85.1
    15-19 63.3 50.7 73.9
    20-24 68.2 53.0 79.2
    25-29 69.7 51.9 82.9
    30-39 69.5 47.9 87.0
    40-49 78.1 60.1 93.1
    50-59 83.4 69.6 95.0
    60 + 86.9 77.0 96.2


 Table 8.2 shows the percentage distribution of the population by the level of education completed. It can be immediately seen that the educational levels attained are indeed very low. According to the data in the table, it can be stated that the great majority of the Mozambican population, 78.4%, have not completed any educational level. This proportion is 69.5% among men and 86.0% among women.

Consistent with the illiteracy levels and trends, the percentage of those who have completed no educational level rises with age. Among those older than 60, this figure reaches 90.0% among men and 98.1% among women. Although younger people have a higher educational level than older people, the respective percentages are low. Thus among people aged 15 to 19,  74.2% have completed no educational level. Among people with some schooling, the vast majority have only Primary Education. The percentage of people with higher levels of schooling is extremely low.

 

TABLE 8.2: Percentage distribution of population aged 15 and above by level of schooling concluded, and by area of residence, age and sex, Mozambique, 1997

Total
Total 8,485.1 100.0 0.3 18.4 2.0 0.4 0.1 0.1 78.4 0.3
    15 - 19 1,628.4 100.0 0.1 24.4 0.9 0.1 0.0 0.0 74.2 0.4
    20 - 24 1,464.7 100.0 0.1 23.8 2.6 0.3 0.1 0.0 72.6 0.5
    25 - 29 1,163.6 100.0 0.2 21.6 3.0 0.5 0.2 0.1 74.0 0.3
    30 - 39 1,689.9 100.0 0.3 20.0 3.1 0.7 0.3 0.3 74.9 0.3
    40 - 49 1,112.4 100.0 0.6 12.4 1.7 0.4 0.1 0.3 84.4 0.1
    50 - 59 727.3 100.0 0.7 7.9 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.2 90.3 0.0
    60 + 698.8 100.0 0.7 4.6 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.1 94.2 0.0
Men 3,908.2 100.0 0.4 25.5 3.1 0.6 0.2 0.2 69.5 0.4
    15 - 19 774.3 100.0 0.1 28.8 1.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 69.3 0.6
    20 - 24 637.1 100.0 0.1 30.7 3.9 0.5 0.1 0.1 63.7 0.8
    25 - 29 509.1 100.0 0.2 30.3 4.9 1.0 0.3 0.2 62.6 0.5
    30 - 39 784.0 100.0 0.4 30.3 5.2 1.3 0.5 0.5 61.3 0.4
    40 - 49 527.1 100.0 0.8 21.0 2.9 0.7 0.2 0.4 73.8 0.2
    50 - 59 341.0 100.0 1.0 14.1 1.2 0.3 0.1 0.3 82.8 0.1
    60 + 335.5 100.0 1.0 8.1 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.1 90.0 0.0
Women 4,576.9 100.0 0.2 12.3 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 86.0 0.2
    15 - 19 854.1 100.0 0.1 20.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 78.6 0.3
    20 - 24 827.6 100.0 0.1 18.4 1.6 0.1 0.1 0.0 79.4 0.3
    25 - 29 654.5 100.0 0.1 14.8 1.5 0.2 0.1 0.1 83.0 0.2
    30 - 39 906.0 100.0 0.2 11.1 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 86.7 0.1
    40 - 49 585.2 100.0 0.4 4.6 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.1 94.0 0.1
    50 - 59 386.3 100.0 0.4 2.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 96.8 0.0
    60 + 363.3 100.0 0.3 1.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 98.1 0.0
Urban
Total 2,539.5 100.0 0.4 37.4 5.5 1.1 0.2 0.5 54.1 0.9
    15 - 19 564.5 100.0 0.1 45.6 2.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 51.0 1.1
    20 - 24 461.1 100.0 0.1 45.2 6.9 0.8 0.1 0.1 45.3 1.5
    25 - 29 345.8 100.0 0.2 42.1 8.4 1.6 0.3 0.5 45.9 1.0
    30 - 39 531.1 100.0 0.4 37.4 8.4 2.1 0.5 1.0 49.4 0.8
    40 - 49 313.0 100.0 0.9 27.0 5.2 1.4 0.2 0.9 64.0 0.5
    50 - 59 172.1 100.0 1.2 20.5 2.4 0.7 0.1 0.6 74.2 0.2
    60 + 151.9 100.0 1.2 12.5 1.0 0.4 0.1 0.3 84.4 0.1
Men 1,249.2 100.0 0.5 44.6 7.8 1.7 0.3 0.7 43.2 1.2
    15 - 19 287.1 100.0 0.1 47.9 2.3 0.2 0.0 0.0 48.1 1.4
    20 - 24 217.3 100.0 0.1 49.3 9.2 1.2 0.1 0.1 37.7 2.2
    25 - 29 161.0 100.0 0.2 49.3 12.4 2.7 0.4 0.7 33.0 1.4
    30 - 39 264.3 100.0 0.4 47.7 12.7 3.4 0.7 1.5 32.5 1.1
    40 - 49 163.0 100.0 1.0 39.3 7.9 2.2 0.3 1.3 47.4 0.7
    50 - 59 87.2 100.0 1.5 32.3 4.0 1.2 0.2 1.0 59.6 0.3
    60 + 69.4 100.0 1.7 21.9 1.8 0.6 0.1 0.4 73.2 0.2
Women 1,290.3 100.0 0.4 30.3 3.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 64.7 0.5
    15 - 19 277.4 100.0 0.1 43.2 1.9 0.1 0.0 0.0 53.9 0.8
    20 - 24 243.8 100.0 0.1 41.5 4.9 0.4 0.1 0.1 52.0 0.9
    25 - 29 184.8 100.0 0.2 35.9 4.9 0.6 0.2 0.3 57.2 0.6
    30 - 39 266.8 100.0 0.4 27.1 4.3 0.8 0.3 0.5 66.1 0.5
    40 - 49 150.0 100.0 0.9 13.6 2.2 0.5 0.2 0.4 82.0 0.2
    50 - 59 84.9 100.0 1.0 8.3 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.3 89.3 0.1
    60 + 82.5 100.0 0.8 4.6 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.1 93.9 0.0
Rural
Total 5,945.6 100.0 0.3 10.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.0 88.8 0.0
    15 - 19 1,063.9 100.0 0.1 13.1 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 86.4 0.1
    20 - 24 1,003.7 100.0 0.1 13.9 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.0 85.1 0.1
    25 - 29 817.7 100.0 0.2 12.9 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.0 85.9 0.1
    30 - 39 1,158.8 100.0 0.3 12.0 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.0 86.6 0.1
    40 - 49 799.3 100.0 0.5 6.6 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 92.4 0.0
    50 - 59 555.3 100.0 0.5 4.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 95.2 0.0
    60 + 546.9 100.0 0.5 2.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 96.9 0.0
Men 2,659.0 100.0 0.4 16.5 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.0 81.8 0.1
    15 - 19 487.3 100.0 0.1 17.6 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 81.8 0.1
    20 - 24 419.8 100.0 0.2 21.1 1.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 77.2 0.1
    25 - 29 348.1 100.0 0.2 21.5 1.5 0.2 0.2 0.0 76.3 0.1
    30 - 39 519.7 100.0 0.4 21.5 1.3 0.3 0.4 0.0 75.9 0.1
    40 - 49 364.1 100.0 0.8 12.7 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.0 85.6 0.0
    50 - 59 253.8 100.0 0.9 7.9 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 90.8 0.0
    60 + 266.1 100.0 0.9 4.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 94.4 0.0
Women 3,286.7 100.0 0.1 5.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 94.4 0.0
    15 - 19 576.6 100.0 0.1 9.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 90.4 0.0
    20 - 24 583.8 100.0 0.1 8.8 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 90.8 0.0
    25 - 29 469.7 100.0 0.1 6.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 93.1 0.0
    30 - 39 639.1 100.0 0.2 4.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 95.3 0.0
    40 - 49 435.2 100.0 0.2 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 98.2 0.0
    50 - 59 301.4 100.0 0.2 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 98.9 0.0
    60 + 280.8 100.0 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 99.3 0.0


 Table 8.2 shows also  the  previous data by area of residence. The educational level of the country’s population is low, but the level of the population in the rural areas is still lower. Thus the proportion of people without any level of schooling in the rural areas is 88.8% (against 54.1% in the urban areas). Particularly high in the rural areas is the percentage of women who have completed no educational level (94.4%). The percentage of people with primary education in the country’s rural areas is just 10.3% (16.5%  among men and 5.3% among women).

Table 8.3 shows the gross and net rates of school attendance. The former is calculated by dividing the total number of pupils of a particular level of  educations (regardless of age) by the population of the age group corresponding to the official age for that level. To calculate the second rate, the total number of pupils whose age coincides with the official age for that level is divided by the population of the age group corresponding to that level. These are the most common measures for estimating the quantitative development of the educational system.

 
TABLE 8.3:  Rates of school attendance by sex, and by area of residence and level of education, Mozambique, 1997
 
Total
Primary Education 66.8 75.7 57.7 39.9 42.9 36.8
Secondary Education 6.9 8.2 5.6 2.2 2.4 2.0
Technical Education 0.8 1.1 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.1
Higher Education 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1
Urbana
Primary Education 105.4 113.4 97.5 62.8 64.7 60.9
Secondary Education 17.2 19.5 14.9 5.4 5.7 5.2
Technical Education 2.1 2.9 1.3 0.7 0.9 0.2
Higher Education 1.0 1.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.2
Rural
Primary Education 50.5 60.3 40.2 30.2 33.9 26.3
Secondary Education 1.3 2.0 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.2
Technical Education 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Higher Education 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

 

Looking at Table 8.3, one notes that the Primary Education gross attendance rate, in two cases, exceeds 100% (the overall total, and for men, in the urban areas). The explanation is the existence of a large number of people, at this level of schooling, who are older than 12, which is the minimum age for ending this level successfully. It should also be stressed that in the transition to Secondary Education, one notes a substantial reduction in the attendance rate. In the case of the gross rate, this falls from 66.8% to 6.9% , and in the case of the net rate. from 39.9% to 2.2%. This  means that most individuals stay only in Primary Education, and do not continue their studies. analyzing the data by sex, one notes that the attendance rate is higher for men (75.7 against 57,7 in the case of the gross rate for primary education, and 42.9 against 36.8 in the case of the net rate). As for the area of residence, in the urban areas, the attendance rates at all levels of education are higher than those observed in the rural areas. For example, the net attendance rate for Primary Education is 62.8% in the urban areas and 30.2%  in the rural areas.  The attendance rates for secondary education are extremely low in the rural areas: the gross rate is 1.3% a, and the net rate 0.4% . In most Third World countries it is possible to observe this difference, to the detriment of the rural population. The lack of schools, the dispersal of the population, and their socio-economic conditions have determined a limited access to education.