"The PIIM [Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities] has built more than 500 schools, and even then they're not going to be enough for all the kids. We will still have many children outside the education system, but the Minister of Education and her team are working to see how through virtual classes, new technologies [can overcome these challenges]," said Carolina Cerqueira at the launch of the school year 2021/2022, in a speech broadcast by Angolan public radio.
Also cited by Angop, Carolina Cerqueira, who proceeded on Tuesday in Menongue, capital of Cuando Cubango province, to the official opening of the 2021/2022 school year, said it is necessary, from now on, not to neglect the rules of hygiene and biosecurity, which the new coronavirus causing covid-19 forced to strengthen.
The governor considered that it is necessary to encourage massive adherence to the vaccination program against coronavirus, as well as compliance with the recommendations of health authorities, in order to have "a school year with better health and welfare".
According to the minister, despite the pandemic, the Executive has found ways to minimize its negative impacts with the paralyzing of the school year, resorting to the broadcasting of classes through partnerships with public television and radio, having for this purpose been trained 1173 teachers in open and distance learning methods.
According to the Minister of State for Social Affairs, in addition to the constraints related to the school calendar and the scheduling of classes, the pandemic also caused added difficulties with regard to the completion of curricular programs at various levels of education.
The number of students who remained outside the education system this year was not disclosed, but only in the province of Cuando Cubango reaches 30,000, being necessary 600 classrooms to reverse this situation.
In his speech at the launching ceremony of the new school year, the governor of Cuando Cubango, Júlio Bessa, said that the investment in human capital and infrastructure must continue, "because much remains to be done" to reduce the deficit of classrooms and, consequently, the number of children outside the school system.
"In the same way, we intend to overcome in the near future the deficit of classrooms in the first and second cycles, which is 50 percent in the first cycle and about 90 percent in the second cycle. By this we mean that five out of ten children who finish elementary school do not continue their studies and nine out of ten children do not reach the second cycle," indicated Júlio Bessa.
