Visiting a Mozambican School

On Tuesday, we visited real Mozambique classes.  The science volunteers went together to a technical school in Matola, a large city about an hour outside Namaacha. 

First off, we have been prepped by other current volunteers about what to expect in the typical secondary school classroom.   For instance, class sizes typically exceed 100 students (yes, just 1 teacher), resources consist of merely a blackboard, and students cram into desks or benches or frequently sit on the floor.  Professors, though greatly respected in this culture, have a reputation for simply not showing up to class or being late, and teaching styles typically center around the professor writing definitions on the board and students simply copying the notes with little explanation or classroom participation. 

However, this technical school in Matola showed the other side of things.  This school has about 2500 students and 120 professors, if you do the math, that’s about a 20:1 ratio.  (In comparison, the nearby secondary school has 9000 students and probably significantly fewer professors.)  The technical school has 16 different areas of study including electrical engineering, mechanics, biochemistry, medicine, biology, etc. 

I observed an organic chemistry class.  The class had only 25-30 students and there was a blackboard and a periodic table on the wall.  The 45 minute lesson aimed at preparation for an upcoming exam and the teacher did somewhat a review of what the students should know, giving examples and asking for classroom participation.  The professor walked around the room while he lectured, he frequently asked “Estamos juntos?” (“Are we together? Do we all understand?”) and gave clear examples of what he expected of the students, and he seemed greatly respected by them. 

After the lessons, we met the head director of the school and then were given a tour.  The school has a computer lab with about 20 computers, but they said many were broken or not functioning well.  Their library consisted of about 4 or 5 bookshelves of books and some maps on the walls and the pedagogic director explained how they were trying to obtain more books but it was expensive.  The school also had a supply room with all the typical items one might find in a chemistry lab class: flasks, beakers, test tubes, even chemical compounds for experiments.  Granted there weren’t nearly as many items as one might see in a school for 2500 students in the US, but even the presence of any sort of chemical or laboratory equipment is extremely rare in most schools here. 

It was definitely an interesting experience visiting this technical school, but for most of us volunteers, our reality once we get to site will most likely be quite different than what we saw here.  In only a few weeks we’ll find out where we will be living for the next two years!