World Education Celebrates Launch of Bilingual Education Program in Mozambique
August 11th, 2023 | News
Minister of Education Carmelita Namashulua, USAID Mission Director Helen Pataki, and EPC de Lumbo School Director Cremilde da Costa Joaquim at the launch event.
On August 10th, officials from USAID and the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH), program partners, and community members gathered in Mozambique to celebrate the launch of the Improved Learning Outcomes in Primary Education (SABER) program. SABER works to improve the lifelong potential of children in Mozambique by expanding bilingual education and strengthening the education system as a whole. SABER is a continuation of USAID’s investment in bilingual education and World Education’s experience enhancing systems and frameworks to improve the quality of early grade learning.
During the launch event, the Minister of Education and Human Development, Carmelita Namashulua, announced the expansion of bilingual education across Mozambique and emphasized the government’s support for this effort. She highlighted the new learning materials in local languages and Portuguese developed by the program, and stressed the importance of training teachers in bilingual education approaches.
Carmelita Namashulua, David Noyes, and other education leaders at the launch event.
USAID|Mozambique’s Mission Director, Helen Pataki, spoke to the benefits of bilingual education, stating that “children learn to read more quickly in their mother tongue. They understand the numbers more quickly, feel more comfortable communicating their needs, and are therefore less likely to drop out of school.” She noted that SABER builds on the momentum of Vamos Ler!, and this investment in education will “pay dividends for generations to come.”
Ms. Namashulua, Ms. Pataki, and other guests of the launch event, including provincial and national government leaders and education officials, visited classrooms, libraries, and community reading clubs to see SABER’s initiatives in action. Students demonstrated their reading abilities in their local language (L1) and Portuguese (L2) using learning materials developed by SABER. Teachers also demonstrated their improved bilingual education instruction skills as a result of SABER teacher trainings.
A song and dance performance emphasized the benefits of bilingual education.
The event was marked with exhibitions and performances promoting the benefits of bilingual education. “This event showed that bilingual education is not only a tool for literacy, it’s also a tool for building confidence. When the students see their effort in the classroom pay off, they begin to discover more of their ability and potential for lifelong success,” said Dr. David Noyes, Country Director for World Education Mozambique.
Through SABER, World Education and partners, in collaboration with MINEDH, will reach 2,249,080 learners, 4,165 schools, and 27,813 teachers across 50 districts in Nampula, Zambezia, Cabo Delgado, and Niassa.
