P 031644Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5303
INFO SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS LUANDA 000067 
 
 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO THE PEACE CORPS 
USAID FOR AFR/RSD JOE KITTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AO
SUBJECT: GRA'S EDUCATION EFFORTS UNDERWHELMING 
 
¶1. Summary: During a January 27 call by Ambassador Mozena, 
acting Minister of Education Narciso Benedito portrayed a 
national education system in collapse and the government's 
efforts to turn the system around.  According to the acting 
Minister, only 37 percent of children aged 6-12 attend 
mandatory primary schooling and over one-third of all 
Angolans are illiterate.  Benedito raised concerns over the 
quality and quantity of teachers and the lack of school 
facilities, especially in Angola's rural areas.  The acting 
Minister highlighted the relative success of Angola's 
secondary schools and asked for USG assistance in English 
language instruction.  He was very supportive of the 
Ambassador's suggestion that Angola consider requesting U.S. 
Peace Corps volunteers to help teach English at the secondary 
level.  He was also very enthused at the prospect of USAID 
support in education as of FY2010, agreeing that teacher 
training is an area in dire need of more investment.  Budget 
realities in 2009 will likely further delay Angola from 
achieving its education goals.  End Summary. 
 
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Not a Pretty Picture 
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¶2. Acting Minister Benedito described for Ambassador Mozena 
Angola's long post-independence struggle to provide an 
adequate education for all Angolan children, where six years 
of primary school are mandatory but only 37 percent of 
children attended primary school in 2008.  Benedito said the 
first post-independence education system worked well, but 
that an external review in 1986 revealed a high drop-out rate 
and inefficient spending that prompted a call in 1991 to 
reform the national education plan.  Work on the reform was 
only completed in 2001 with the passage of the Law of Angolan 
Education Standards, an UNESCO-reviewed and approved system 
that provides for six years of mandatory primary school and 
six years of secondary school in either the college prep, 
vocational, or normal (teacher training) programs.  The law 
also provides for a diverse offering of public and private 
universities.  Benedito said the end of civil war in 2002 and 
the extension of state control to previously war-torn 
provinces caused a rapid influx of students that overwhelmed 
the system.  By 2005, the GRA tried to manage the problem by 
hiring 50,000 teachers that year and 27,000 teachers in 2006. 
 The acting minister added that in 2009 the GRA expects to 
fill only 11,000 of 27,000 teacher positions and that quality 
remains a serious problem.  In many cases, according to 
Benedito, teachers work overtime, teach classes in more than 
one school, or take second jobs to make ends meet.  At the 
current teacher's salary, Benedito told the Ambassador, 
Angola will never get the number of teachers its children 
need. 
 
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The Government's Plan 
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¶3. Benedito said the GRA set three priorities in 2008 to 
accomplish by the end of 2009: expanding the school network 
(new schools), increasing and improving the ranks of teachers 
and administrators, and beginning a system of teacher 
evaluation.  Benedito described the GRA's efforts to achieve 
universality of primary education through a system of 
recovery for older students.  While only 37 percent of 
primary-aged children are in primary school, 41 percent of 
children generally are attending primary school - this 
includes older students enrolled in an accelerated program to 
catch them up with their primary studies.  Benedito said the 
GRA hopes to expand overall primary coverage, including 
beneficiaries of this program, by 21 percent in 2009, toward 
100 percent coverage by the end of 2015.  Benedito added that 
the GRA hopes to use available resources to meet its goals, 
but that domestic resources are becoming tighter due to the 
global economy and the fall of the price of oil.  Benedito 
said the GRA will depend on cooperation from international 
partners to meet its needs.  He highlighted a Cuban program 
to fight illiteracy and an Israeli program to expand 
vocational education as successful examples of international 
cooperation. 
 
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An Opportunity for Peace Corps and USAID 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. Ambassador Mozena raised with the acting Minister the 
possibility that Peace Corps volunteers could come to Angola 
and teach English at the secondary level and add expertise on 
the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.  The 
acting Minister expressed great interest in exploring Peace 
Corps opportunities.  He said the Ministry would be the 
appropriate starting point to discuss allocation of resources 
and the potential scope of work.  The acting Minister was 
likewise enthused with the prospect of USAID assistance in 
the education sector for FY2010 (requested in the 2010 MSP). 
Benedito jumped to agree with the Ambassador's suggestion 
that USAID might design a project around teacher training; 
the acting Minister hastened to name a point person within 
the Ministry with whom USAID can begin to coordinate. 
 
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Comment 
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¶5. While it is encouraging that the Ministry of Education 
understands the serious challenges it faces in bringing 100 
percent primary school coverage to Angola's children, the GRA 
is years away from improving the quality of education to 
match the increasing quantity.  Entire generations of 
children are missing the opportunity to receive even a basic 
education, due to insufficient funding and a lack of teacher 
training, evaluation, and oversight.  The collapse of oil 
prices will likely further delay Angola's achieving its goals 
to build more schools and hire more and better teachers, 
although GRA officials have publicly stated that education 
spending will not be cut.  Overall, Angola's efforts since 
the end of the civil war to improve education remain 
underwhelming. 
 
 
MOZENA