“Training for the present is no longer enough... It is a question of the country’s strategic survival. Mozambique’s relevance in the concert of nations will depend on our ability to create an education system that thinks ahead,” she said.
Predicting the future and acting accordingly may seem like an impossible task. However, it is possible and this is the challenge left to the Pedagogical University (UP) by Graça Machel, former Minister of Education and Culture.
According to her, the institution, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, must train professionals capable of moving forward, as part of the strategies to return UP to its position at the forefront of teacher training and thinking about the country. Only then will the university consolidate itself as a national and international reference in education.
“We cannot train ordinary teachers, but rather educators of the highest quality, equipped with the tools to understand, interpret and, above all, anticipate the dynamics of a world in constant transformation,” said Graça Machel.
She also warns that a teacher must be decades ahead of his or her time to prepare young people who will be in an unpredictable and demanding job market.
“Training for the present is no longer enough... It is a question of the country’s strategic survival. Mozambique’s relevance in the concert of nations will depend on our ability to create an education system that thinks ahead,” she said.
According to the human rights activist, among the great challenges facing UP is to rigorously and intentionally assume its historical role, as well as being the national center of excellence in the training of teachers and education technicians.
In this sense, he also proposes a greater expansion of the Pedagogical University, accompanied by concrete instruments for standardizing training, in order to ensure that teachers trained in different provinces share the same training matrix.
“Our Mozambican children, wherever they are from, must recognize themselves in each other. This requires a clear and cohesive line in teacher training. Creativity is important, but it must be based on a shared and solid foundation”, she considered.
Graça Machel's intervention is part of the celebrations of UP's 40th anniversary. The event took place in Maputo under the motto “UP-Maputo: Genesis and Journey”. As Minister of Education and Culture, she played a significant role in the creation of UP, then the Instituto Superior Pedagógico (ISP) in 1984.
(By Rafael Langa)
