Mozambique - Improving the Quality of University Graduates

In 1990, Mozambique had fewer than 3,000 university-trained persons. Less than 15 percent of civil service personnel had a university degree, and more than a third of civil servants had less than seven years of primary education. Highly trained and professionally experienced Mozambicans tended to gravitate towards the private sector. Consequently, the planning and management of both public and private sector activities were adversely impacted. This Infobrief focuses on the expansion in the quantity and improvement in the quality of university graduates, a specific objective of the World Bank-assisted Capacity Building: Human Resources Development project which was implemented between 1993 and 2001. The number of students graduating annually from UEM has increased five times during project implementation (1994-2001), from 148 in 1994 to 695 in 2000. The percentage of graduates who complete all degree requirements within the official prescribed time has increased from 5 percent in 1997 to 15 percent in 2000. The overall average examination pass rate has improved from 39 percent in 1994 to 53 percent in 2000. Under the project, 4,350 book titles were imported and 159 textbook titles were produced locally. While the targeted number of books distributed to each student was five, survey questionnaires to a sample of economics and engineering students found that each student had 7-10 books. Critical capacity building needs in the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) were addressed through a strategy based on linking with selected universities outside the country. Libraries and reading space serving the faculties of agriculture, architecture, economics, veterinary science and medicine were expanded. Overall, about 50 percent of the university infrastructure was rehabilitated as planned.