School in Mozambique

Educação Pré-Escolar (EPE) serves children below six through creches and jardins de infância and prepares them for school; attendance is optional and is not required for entry into the 1ª classe. Ensino Primário (EP) runs from the 1ª to the 6ª classe in two cycles: the first covers the 1ª to 3ª classe and the second covers the 4ª to 6ª classe. Ensino Secundário Geral (ESG) runs from the 7ª to the 12ª classe, with a first cycle from the 7ª to the 9ª classe and a second cycle from the 10ª to the 12ª classe. Basic education combines EP with the first cycle of ESG. The usual immediate transitions are from the 6ª to the 7ª classe, from the 9ª to the 10ª classe and from the 12ª classe to post-school pathways. A child must be enrolled in the 1ª classe by 30 June of the year in which the child turns six. Compulsory attendance covers the 1ª to the 9ª classe. Parents, guardians, families and local authorities are expected to support enrollment, regular attendance and continued participation. Schools may be public, community, cooperative or private under Lei 18/2018. Secondary provision can include day, night and distance options, and boarding arrangements or lares are also documented. In the 2025 general-education enrollment data, 10,034,364 learners were enrolled: 9,702,924 in public institutions and 331,440 in private or community institutions. Ensino Primário accounted for 7,489,545 learners, compared with 2,061,704 in the first cycle of ESG and 483,115 in the second cycle. Girls represented 49.5 percent of total enrollment. Public primary schools do not charge propinas, and the State is assigned the costs of compulsory education. Policy reporting also describes the expansion of free education through the 9ª classe, while costs for EPE, private schools and items outside tuition are not uniform. Primary teaching uses Portuguese alone or bilingual teaching with a Mozambican language and Portuguese, including Mozambican Sign Language where applicable. The curriculum covers communication, social and natural sciences, mathematics, physical, aesthetic and cultural education, and basic practical skills. ESG deepens these areas and adds stronger logical, abstract, scientific and practical-technological problem-solving. Braille, sign-language access, inclusion, gender equity, textbooks and teaching materials form part of the support framework. Meals, transport, uniforms and catchment rules can vary because no uniform national arrangement is established here. Schools monitor performance by class, sex and province and record indicators such as approval, dropout, repetition and completion. The reviewed national information does not establish one current set of examination or grade thresholds for every school. The Ministério da Educação e Cultura (MEC) sets central policy, regulation and supervision, supported by national primary and secondary education directorates, the Inspecção da Educação e Cultura, provincial education structures and individual schools.