LUANDA: The Education sector in Cuanza-Norte is facing significant challenges, with a need for 112 new schools to accommodate 28,000 children currently outside the learning system. This was highlighted during a meeting chaired by President João Gonçalves Lourenço, with provincial governor João Diogo Gaspar expressing the urgent need for these educational facilities to achieve full coverage in the province.
According to Angola Press News Agency, Governor Gaspar reported that Cuanza-Norte province, which has enrolled 160,000 students for the current school year, also requires 3,755 new teachers and over 4,000 administrative assistants. Currently, more than three thousand teachers are teaching in 2,693 classrooms across over 200 schools. However, 116 of these schools are constructed with local materials like adobe and are in urgent need of rehabilitation.
In terms of vocational training, the governor noted the recent inauguration of a training unit in Lucala municipality, named ‘Cidadela Jovem de Sucesso’. Thi
s facility provides technical and professional training for over 2,500 young people. Despite this progress, the province still calls for the construction of five new vocational training centers in various municipalities and a media library.
Governor Gaspar also addressed higher education, acknowledging the upcoming construction of a university campus intended to house the province’s Higher Polytechnic Institute. Nevertheless, he emphasized the necessity of building new university units in Ambaca and Cambambe municipalities. He underscored the importance of bolstering public investments for managing existing infrastructures, including laboratories and human resources.
The scarcity of training opportunities is a significant concern for the government, as it contributes to the migration of staff to other regions, negatively impacting local socio-economic development. Gaspar also highlighted the need to increase scholarships for university students in the province, where 445 students currently receive scholarsh
ips.
