Africa-Press – Mozambique. The 2026 school year is set to officially open on Friday, 27 February.
At least 35 schools continue to be used as shelters for victims of floods in the southern and central regions of the country, on the eve of the 2026 school year. A considerable number of educational establishments remain cut off, particularly in Gaza province, preventing hundreds of children and teachers from accessing the school facilities.
This situation occurs just a week before the start of the school year, which will officially open on Friday, 27 February, in the city of Beira, where the country’s largest primary school will be inaugurated.
This new school has 46 classrooms, with capacity for 4,600 pupils in two shifts. The facility will accommodate students from the former Esturro Primary School, one of the institutions most affected by Cyclone Idai.
Meanwhile, on Friday, 20 February, the Minister of Education and Culture, Samaria Tovela, assured that conditions are in place for the start of classes, and that work is ongoing to accommodate people currently sheltering in schools.
However, to work around the fact that some establishments remain cut off, the minister noted that tents are available that could temporarily serve as classrooms. She also mentioned that a special programme is being prepared as another measure.
Samaria Tovela considers the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by the extreme weather a major challenge for the sector she oversees. Assessments indicate that approximately 1,610 schools were damaged, of which 376 were completely destroyed. An unspecified quantity of school books was also damaged, particularly those used in the lending system for grades 3 to 9.
To address the gap, reserved emergency stock of textbooks may be used. Regarding new enrolments, Samaria Tovela specified that, so far, around 1,320,232 pupils are enrolled in the first grade out of a projected total of 1,623,000.
