Crisis in Angola's schools

Children grow up in Angola knowing only war

By Lara Pawson from Luanda

Teachers in four of Angola's 18 provinces have begun a strike protesting about the lack of teacher-training and low or even no wages.

Monthly wages are as low as $7 a month

They say that months of fruitless discussions with the government have left them no alternative but to strike.

According to local reports, schools in the provinces of Huila, Bié, Malange and Kwanza Sul are completely paralysed.

The dire state of the education system is close to reaching an all-time low.

Low wages

In terms of indicators, Angola's education system is one of the lowest in Africa: Half of all adults are illiterate and only 13% of children receive constant schooling,

Only 13% of children will receive constant schooling

In March, Education Minister Antonio Burity da Silva pledged to increase salaries to a minimum of $77 a month by the end of April.

However, many teachers say that in some cases monthly wages are as low as $7 a month.

Often, salaries do not come through for several months on end.

Bribes

Last year, the United Nations children's organisation, Unicef, estimated that nearly half of all Angolan children are not in school.

In the same year, the Ministry of Education reported that over 70% of children between the ages of six and 14 are and will remain out of the school system.

Parents say they cannot afford to pay relatively high school fees.

Because of the backlog in salaries, often teachers request unofficial payments or bribes from pupils.

Another problem is the education standards of the teachers themselves.

In theory, Angolan teachers must have achieved the eighth grade in school to qualify for work; in practice, few ever attain this level.

The education minister says part of the problem lies in the national budget.

This year, education received just 7% of the total budget. Of that 5%, says Mr da Silva, goes on salaries, leaving just 2% for other investments.