Approximately 1,400 new Mozambican primary school teachers recently graduated at commencement ceremonies held throughout Mozambique, thanks in part to support from the USDA's McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program. The teachers had completed their training at colleges operated by ADPP Mozambique, a local development organization supported by Planet Aid. Since launching its primary school teacher-training program 25 years ago, ADPP has graduated nearly 20,000 qualified educators.
The Mozambican Minister of Education, Conceição Sortane (pictured below), attended the graduation ceremony held at the college in Chimoio in the western province of Manica. She applauded the graduates' achievement and warmly embraced them as new members of the educational sector.
The student-teacher ratio in Mozambique has been improving but remains at 1 teacher per 52 students, one of the highest ratios in Sub-Saharan Africa. The new ADPP teachers are much needed to help chip away at that number, especially in underserved rural areas where the ratio often exceeds the national average. Teachers trained by ADPP are equipped to respond to the unique needs of rural Mozambican schools, and are practiced in mobilizing communities to support education as an integral part of local development.
Click here to read more about the educational and other development projects that Planet Aid supports in Mozambique.
The below map shows the locations of the ADPP colleges and the numbers of graduates (male and female) that each college produced this year.
