Budget Cuts Will Affect Quality of Higher Education

12 April 2011

Maputo — Education Minister Zeferino Martins has warned that cuts to the budgets of the country’s two public universities, the Eduardo Mondlane University and the Pedagogical University, will compromise the quality of education in both institutions.

The Minister said during an interview with the newspaper “O Pais” that the budget cuts are due to the current international financial crisis, which has forced the government to reduce funds for some parts of the public sector, including health and education.

According to the Minister, Eduardo Mondlane University, the largest and oldest institution of higher education in the country, will suffer a budget cut of 38 per cent.

The cuts arise “because, effectively, there is no money. The country is trying to survive a difficult international crisis . . . therefore the immediate consequence is that public sectors such as Education and Health are the ones that will suffer”, explained Martins.

Zeferino Martins warned that “if there is no money, there will be problems with quality”.

To mitigate the problems, Martin said, universities and teachers are urged to make extra efforts, which will include increasing tuition fees and looking for other sources of funding.

Currently, there are over 70,000 students enrolled in 38 higher education institutions across the country, of which more than half attend either Eduardo Mondlane University or the Pedagogical University.

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