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Tertiary and Higher Education, 1974-ca.1998
Dossier MZ-0257
Above: Four major Mozambican institutions of higher education among many are (from left to right), the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), re-founded in 1976; the Universidade Pedagógica, founded as the Instituto Superior Pedagógico (ISP) in 1985 and split in 2019 into the Universidade Maputo, the Universidade Save, the Universidade Púnguè, the Universidade Licungo and the Universidade Rovuma; the Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologias de Moçambique (ISCTEM), founded in 1996; and the Universidade Católica de Moçambique (UCM), also 1996.
Higher education in Mozambique began in 1963, when the Estudos Gerais Universitários [General University Studies] were established by the colonial authorities, named after the old Medieval Latin term for a university, Studium Generale. These were general introductory courses, and as soon as students began to specialize in a particular discipline, they would go to Portugal to complete their studies. After five years, in 1968, the Estudos Gerais Universitários were institutionalized as a university, named Universidade de Lourenço Marques, with the right to grant degrees. The establishment of the university was partly a response to the nationalist threat represented by Frelimo - indeed, in 1972 the Rector stated that the institution ‘must be the main vehicle ... for the diffusion of the values that define and characterize Portuguese culture’. The university was overwhelmingly white: in 1967 there were eight black students out of a total of 748 registered. In the year of independence, 1975, the number of students dropped by a third, as settler families returned to Portugal. In 1976 the institution was renamed the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), in honor of the first president of Frelimo.
For ten years, UEM remained the country’s only university, with a range of faculties including one of Marxism-Leninism and another for Vanguard Workers. In 1985, in response to the pressure of numbers of students, the Ministry of Education set up the Instituto Superior Pedagógico (ISP), an institution specializing in education as a discipline, and this was followed in February 1986 by the establishment of the Instituto Superior de Relações Internacionais (ISRI) to train diplomats and specialists in international relations. ISP subsequently became the Universidade Pedagógica, with campuses in different provinces.
Mozambicans also studied abroad, initially mainly in the socialist countries such as Cuba, the Soviet Union, and the German Democratic Republic, but later in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, and elsewhere. This trend continues to the present.
The period between the economic restructuring of 1987 and the early 1990s saw higher education transformed into a sector conforming more closely to international practice. The student population continued to grow, and in 1991 competitive examinations for admission into higher education were introduced. In 1993 parliament passed a Lei do Ensino Superior [Higher Education Act] which established norms for institutional statutes, and also set up a National Council for Higher Education [the Conselho Nacional do Ensino Superior]. The Act also provided for the establishment of both public and private universities. The first three private degree-granting institutions to be established were the Universidade Católica de Moçambique (UCM) and the Instituto Superior Politécnico e Universitário (ISPU), both legalised in 1995; and the Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM), approved in 1996. The UCM was founded in response to issues raised in 1992 in Italy, during the peace negotiations between RENAMO and the Mozambican government. Specifically, UCM was intended to make university education available in the central and northern provinces, and it opened its first courses in Beira and Nampula, later adding facilities in Tete, Quelimane, Pemba and Chimoio among other towns. At the time of writing there are now multiple institutions of higher education across the country, with a wide range of pedagogical practice, ideological and religious orientation (both Islamic and Christian), and offering varying quality of education.
MHN Resources
The 1970s
◊ 30 April 1974
Os estudantes de Moçambique contra possíveis golpes da extrema direita. Diário de Lisboa [Lisbon], 30 April 1974. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 9 August 1974
Douglas Morrison. Mozambique: staff leaving university at alarming rate since coup. Times Higher Education Supplement [London], 9 August 1974. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
Above: Students at what was then the University ot Lourenço Marques attending a demonstration during the transition to independence, 1974-1975. The student body at the time was overwhelmingly white.
◊ 17 January 1975
Frelimo será guia da universidade. A Capital [Lisbon], 17 January 1975. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 1 May 1978
Samora Moisés Machel. A classe trabalhadora deve conquistar e exercer o poder na frente da ciência e da cultura. [Maputo]: Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, 1978. 23 p. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 13 May 1979
José Sá. TBARN: mobilizar a natureza. Tempo [Maputo], no.448 (13 May 1979), pages 16-21. TBARN was a research centre within the Instituto de Investigação Ciêntifica de Moçambique; the initials stood for Técnicas Básicas e Aproveitamento dos Recursos Naturais. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 29 July 1979
Estudantes universitários em actividades de férias: AJU/79 complementam actividade curricular. Tempo no.459, 29 July 1979, pages 40-43. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
The 1980s
◊ 11 September 1980
Em Nampula, Instituto Pedagógico forma docentes para as escolas industriais: em funcionamento desde a passada segunda-feira. Notícias [Maputo], 11 September 1980. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 25 January 1981
Sidónio Elias Cuambe. Um simples retrato moçambicano. Tempo [Maputo], no.537, 25 January 1981, pages 51-55. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 15 January 1982
Selecção rigorosa para ingresso na UEM. Notícias [Maputo], 15 January 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 11 May 1982
Ernesto Zucule. Com a formação de trabalhadores, UEM dará às empresas os quadros de que carecem: Fernando Jorge Cardoso ao Notícias. In: Notícias [Maputo], 11 May 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 16 May 1982
C. J. Faculdade de Educação: como preencher vazios. Tempo [Maputo] no.605, 16 May 1982, pages 12-13. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 9 August 1982
Instituto de Línguas: inicia novo semestre: Judite Baloi fala ao Notícias. Notícias [Maputo], 9 August 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 22 August 1982
Arlindo Lopes. Apoiar libertação económica, apelam cientistas sociais no final de reunião em Maputo. Tempo [Maputo] no.619, 22 August 1982, pages 14-15. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 October 1982
Para trabalhadores, mais três cursos criados na universidade. Notícias [Maputo], 19 October 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 October 1982
Ernesto Zucule. Formação acelerado de trabalhadores: três novos cursos abertos na universidade. Notícias [Maputo], 19 October 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 23 October 1982
Ernesto Zucule. UEM estuda introdução de cursos nocturnos: em projecto criação do ensino dirigido. Notícias [Maputo], 23 October 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ November 1982
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. Serviços de apoio académico: anexo VI. Maputo: UEM, November 1982. 20 pages (II Reunião Geral). Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 9 November 1982
Aumenta número de universitários de 1800 em 1979 para 2350 este ano. Notícias [Maputo], 9 November 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 11 November 1982
Uma universidade que sirva o país: Fernando Ganhão no encerramento da reunião geral da UEM. Notícias, 11 November 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 13 November 1982
No próximo quinquénio, novos cursos abertos na UEM: minas, arquitectura e urbanismo são as primeiras perspectivas. Notícias, 13 November 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 14 November 1982
F. Manuel. UEM: exercer papel transformador. Tempo no.631, 14 November 1982, pages 6-7. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 December 1982
Celestino Jorge. Desorganizados não podem ter ideias: Marcelino dos Santos na Faculdade de Educação. Tempo no.636, 19 December 1982, pages 9-10. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 23 March 1983
Suspenso funcionamento da Faculdade de Direir, determina Presidente Samora Machel. Notícias, 23 March 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 7 June 1983
Equivalência de diplomas entre universidades da RPM e URSS: planificada formação de moçambicanos em instituições soviéticas. Notícias, 7 June 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 July 1983
Moçambicano doutorado em geografia. Notícias, 19 July 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 21 July 1983
Sinto-me honrado por conseguir o doutoramento: Aniceto dos Muchangos, o primeiro moçambicano a doutorar-se depois da independência. Notícias, 21 July 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 23 July 1983
Aniceto dos Muchangos. Utilização e transformação da natureza como recurso para o desenvolvimento. Notícias, 23 July 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 28 July 1983
No quadro das AJU/83, estudantes universitários a produzir nas empresas: as práticas tiveram início segunda-feira. Notícias, 28 July 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 29 November 1983
Marcelino Silva. Através da formação profissional no CPD, técnicos de informática elevam conhecimentos. Notícias, 29 November 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 December 1983
Marcelino Silva. A partir do próximo ano, Instituto Comercial terá centro de treino para informática. Notícias, 3 December 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 December 1983
No Instituto de Línguas, graduados 18 guias-interpretes [e] oficializado conselho local da ONP. Notícias, 19 December 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
Above: The Language Institute (Instituto de Línguas) then located in Rua Comandante Augusto Cardoso in Maputo, taught English and French to state functionaries and Party cadres. Private language schools have now taken over the market; the building in Rua Comandante Augusto Cardoso is now the Reitoria of the Universidade Pedagógica. The photograph shows a class in English at the end of their course in the early 1980s, with their Tanzanian teacher (front row, fourth from left).
◊ 24 December 1983
Na Faculdade para Combatentes, formados 26 técnicos de gestão de empresas. Notícias, 24 December 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 31 December 1983
A partir de 1985, Faculdade de Educação será Instituto Superior Pedagógico. Notícias, 31 December 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ January 1984
Tertit Aasland. Research in Mozambique: a survey of the research sector in Mozambique with an introduction on Norwegian assistance to development research and to Mozambique. Oslo, January 1984. 80 pages. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 January 1984
Na Faculdade de Educação, qualificação dos docentes para Instituto Superior Pedagógico. Notícias, 3 January 1984. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 21 February 1984
Jovens guineenses estudam na UEM: 20 estudantes chegaram ontem a Maputo. Notícias, 21 February 1984. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 8 April 1984
Aniceto dos Machungos. Mais que o título académico, importante é conhecer a realidade: Aniceto dos Machungos, doutor em ciências geográficos. Domingo, 8 April 1984, page 16. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 6 January 1985
Alberto Naroromele. Faculdade de Combatentes: avaliação de personalidade processo inédito mas útil. Domingo 6 January 1985, page 7. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 13 January 1985
Diogo Guilande. Continuar a trabalhar na minha especialidade – desejo do engenheiro químico Diogo Guilande, recentemente licenciado pela UEM. Domingo, 13 January 1985. Guilande died in 2010, and the Diogo Eugénio Guilande Technical University (UTDEG) is named in his memory. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 29 April 1985
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Gabinete do Reitor. Directiva: formação de docentes no estrangeiro. Maputo, 29 April 1985. 7 pages. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 6 September 1985
Desde há oito anos, licenciada primeira economist pela UEM. Notícias, 6 September 1985. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 20 September 1985
Na área de geografia, primeiros licenciados saem este ano da UEM. Notícias, 20 September 1985. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 October 1985
Primeiro geógrafo licenciado pela UEM. Notícias, 19 October 1985. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 6 January 1986
Criado em Maputo Instituto Superior Pedagógico. Notícias, 6 January 1986. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 5 February 1986
António Fernando. Tanzanianos formados pela UEM. Notícias, 5 February 1986, page 2. John Mshana and Pius Rupia. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 4 March 1986
Ernesto Zucule. A partir de Julho, nova universidade formará professores: revela Vice-Ministro da Educação. Instituto Superior Pedagógico começa com três cursos de licenciatura. Notícias, 4 March 1986. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 18 May 1986
Teresa Sá Nogueira. Universidade: tempo de mudança. 1ª parte. Tempo no.814, 18 May 1986, pages 15-20. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 May 1986
Ganhão para sempre ligado à história da UEM: comunidade universitária em festa de despedida ao seu primeiro reitor. Notícias, 19 May 1986. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
Above: Fernando Ganhão was an educationalist, academic, occasional poet and political figure, best known as the first rector Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, where he exercised enormous influence on the development of higher education in Mozambique. He was born in Lourenço Marques and educated in Mozambique, Portugal and Poland, where he earned a master’s degree in historical studies. He joined Frelimo soon after its foundation, and taught at the Mozambique Institute in Dar es Salaam from 1966 to 1968, collecting material for a nationalist counter-history of Mozambique, intended to replace the then dominant colonialist narrative. In December 1974 he was appointed to head the Universidade de Lourenço Marques. He led a process of transformation in difficult circumstances, with very few qualified Mozambican teachers and with an academic staff from all over the world, often with only an elementary command of Portuguese. Ganhão was a member of the Central Committee of the Frelimo and of the Comissão Permanente of the Assembleia Popular. Later in his career he became rector of the Universidade Técnica de Moçambique, a position he still held at the time of his death. An interview with Ganhão appears in Patrick Chabal’s Vozes Africanas: Literatura e Nacionalidade (1994).
◊ 25 May 1986
Teresa Sá Nogueira. Universidade: tempo de mudança. 2ª parte. Tempo no.815, 26 May 1986, pages 12-14. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 15 June 1986
António Elias. Instituto Superior Pedagógico: alicerce para elevação do nível do ensino. Tempo no.818, 15 June 1986, pages 12-13. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 6 July 1986
Castigo Langa. OJM, vozes da conferência: confusão e insatisfação na Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. Tempo no.821, v, pages 22-25. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 December 1986
António Muiambo. Trabalhadores da UEM escolheram representantes Notícias, 3 December 1986. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 25 December 1986
Economia de trabalho: primeiros técnicos médios graduados por escola nacional. Notícias, 25 December 1986. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 28 December 1986
António Fernando. Clube da Universidade é agora Associação Académica, a forma mais correcta de abranger todos os estudantes moçambicanos. Notícias, 28 December 1986. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 13 November 1987
Engenharia mecânica: mais dois moçambicanos concluem licenciatura. Notícias, 13 November 1987. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 21 January 1988
Da RDA, UEM recebe material didáctico. Notícias, 21 January 1988. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ December 1988/January 1989
A university scarred by South African violence. Southern African Political and Economic Monthly, Harare, December 1988/January 1989, page 8. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 15 January 1989
Arnaldo Henrique. Investigação: o motor que o desenvolvimento precisa. Tempo no.953, 15 January 1989, pages 10-13. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 10 May 1989
Mozambique: defence forces express support for Frelimo over student actions. Summary of World Broadcasts. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 17-23 May 1989
Levantamento de rancho: greve de estudantes no Maputo. África, Lisbon, no.105, 17-23 May 1989. See next item for the full report. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 17-23 May 1989
Levantamento de rancho. África, Lisbon, no.105, 17-23 May 1989, page 7. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 22 May 1989
Na resolução dos seus problemas, estudantes universitários saúdam melhorias verfificadas: decidida constituição do Conselho Estudantil. Notícias, 22 May 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 24 May 1989
Sigawule Muyendzi. No rescaldo da greve estudantil. África, Lisbon, 24 May 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 18 June 1989
Salomão Moyana. Ensino superior: crescer com os pés na terra. Notícias, 18 June 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 23 June 1989
No ano lectivo prestes a começar, Universidade ultrapassa uma meta histórica. Notícias, 23 June 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 28 June 1989
Em função das nossas necessidades e possibilidades, conceber a Universidade para a realidade do país: exortação do Presidente Chissano em reunião com a UEM. Notícias, 28 June 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 28 June 1989
Nos últimos 14 anos, universidade graduou mais de dois mil estudantes. Notícias, 28 June 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
The 1990s
◊ 11 January 1990
Chissano dismisses Maputo university rector. Summary of World Broadcasts. Radio report of 11 January. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 12 January 1990
Chissano exonera reitor da UEM. Diário de Moçambique, Beira, 12 January 1990. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 8 April 1991
Shortage of places in post-secondary eduction. Summary of World Broadcasts. Radio transmission on 8 April 1991. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ August 1991
University fees up 10,400%. BCG Bulletin, Harare, August 1991. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 21 August 1991
Cursando medicina em Portugal: Moçambicanos a favour de permanentes contactos. Notícias, 21 August 1991. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ September 1991
Massive hike in university fees. Mozambiquefile, September 1991. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 27 October 1991
Ensino superior: as propinas como cavalo de batalha. Domingo, 27 October 1991. Note that the word propina, which normally means a bribe in Brazilian Portuguese, means tuition fee in this Mozambican context. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 18 January 1992
Estudantes universitários deixam Centro 8 de Março. Notícias, 18 January 1992. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 22 April 1992
Beira: Instituto Comercial e Industrial vai beneficiar de reabilitação. Notícias, 22 April 1992. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 4 September 1992
Unicamp e África. Jornal de Ciência Hoje, 4 September 1992, page 5. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 29 March 1993
Estudantes expulsos da Universidade de Maputo por ingresso fraudulento. Século de Joanesburgo, 29 March 1993. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 7 May 1993
Church education move. SouthScan vol.8 no.18, 7 May 1993, page 132. Planning for the Universidade Católica. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 7 May 1993
Nampula terá brevemente uma universidade católica. Notícias, 7 May 1993. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 31 May 1993
Bolseiros da universidade decidem suspender greve. Século de Joanesburgo, 31 May 1993. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 21 July 1993
Universidade Católica para breve na cidade da Beira. Século de Joanesburgo, 21 July 1993. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 2 August 1993
. Jovens universitários de Maputo em visita de 12 dias à África do Sul, Zimbabwé e Botswana. Século de Joanesburgo, 2 August 1992, page 19. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 8 September 1993
Dentro de seis anos na UEM população estudantil será mais que o dobro. Diário de Moçambique, Beira, 8 September 1993, page 13. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 20 September 1993
Universidade Católica Moçambicana apoiada pela sua congénere portuguesa. Século de Joanesburgo, 20 September 1993. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 9 October 1993
[Short untitled news item on establishment of a Catholic University in Beira and Nampula]. Indian Ocean Newsletter, 9 October 1993. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 21 March 1994
Universidade Católica quer primeira faculdade a funcionar em Agosto 1995. Século de Joanesburgo , 21 March 1994. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 June 1994
Graduados com dedo acusador: governo roubou-nos um grau académico. Savana, 3 June 1994. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 4 August 1996
Bento Venâncio. Carlos Machili: as pupilas do senhor reitor. Domingo, 4 August 1996, page 30. Interview with the then Rector of the Universidade Pedagógica. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 12 April 1998
Belmiro Adamugy. Elísio Macamo, andarilho pela Europa há 10 anos: estou sempre em África, palavras de um moçambicano radicado na Alemanha. Domingo, 12 April 1998. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
Training in Agronomy and Veterinary Science
◊ 29 March 1981
Orlando Mendes (orientação). Instituto Agrário de Chimoio: a transformação. Tempo [Maputo] no.546, 29 March 1981, pages 50-53. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 4 October 1981
Com os alunos do IAC. Tempo [Maputo] no.573, 4 October 1981, pages 24-25. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 4 October 1981
Instituto Agrário de Chimoio: a crise ficou para trás. Tempo [Maputo] no.573, 4 October 1981, pages 22-23. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 30 January 1983
Fátima Albuquerque. Instituto Agrário de Chimoio: aliar a teoria com a prática. Tempo [Maputo], no.642, 30 January 1983, pages 10-12. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 16 July 1983
A iniciar próxima semana, estudantes de UEM preparam actividades de Julho: veterinários comprometem-se a dar o melhor que podem. Notícias, 16 July 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 5 August 1984
Augusto Casimiro. Faculdade de Veterinária comemora vinte anos. Tempo no.721, 5 August 1984, page 18. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 11 November 1984
Augusto Casimiro. Combate à fome num curso de ensino superior. Tempo no.735, 11 November 1984, pages 25-30. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 11 May 1985
Unidade agro-pecuária e Faculdade de Urbanística, dois projectos da UEM com apoio italiano. Notícias, 11 May 1985. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 27 July 1986
Escola Agrária do Niassa: remand contra a maré. Tempo no.824, 27 July 1986, pages 20-22. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 30 November 1986
Fernando Manuel. Instituto Agrário de Chimoio: a bonança depois da tempestade. Tempo no.842, 30 November 1986, pages 15-19. Click here to view or download a PDF file.