Mozambique requires national history in foreign and private schools

O private education in Mozambique will be exclusively classroom and schools that follow foreign curricula will have to include disciplines such as Portuguese Language, Geography, History of Mozambique and Social Sciences, according to new legal regime.

The new legal framework is contained in Decree No 54/2026, recently approved by the Government, which redefines the regime applicable to the exercise of private education activity in Mozambique and repeals Decree No 11/90, which had been in force for more than 35 years, establishing, for example, that “the exercise of private education activity is exclusively in-person”, prohibiting private education at a distance.

It defines that teaching in this modality, from a distance, becomes an infringement subject to sanctions, with the decree to provide for the “closure” of the institution and the cancellation of the license in these situations.

The diploma applies to private institutions of the subsystems of Preschool Education, General Education and Adult Education, also covering vocational education institutions, foreign curriculum schools and institutions dedicated to the teaching of national and foreign languages.

Institutions of foreign states, religious schools and political training institutions are excluded.

Private institutions already in operation will have an adjustment period of 18 months.

Another of the most far-reaching changes concerns international schools, with the decree defining that entities wishing to teach foreign curricula depend on obtaining accreditation by educational authorities in the country of origin, consisting of this accreditation in “confirming the existence of technical capacity for teaching the curriculum”.

In addition, these institutions are obliged to include in their curricular plans disciplines of the National Education System. In primary education they will have to teach Portuguese Language and Social Sciences, while in secondary education the disciplines of Portuguese Language, Geography and History of Mozambique become mandatory.

The diploma states that entities teaching foreign curriculum “should include, in their study plans”, those national disciplines.

The new scheme also provides that the exercise of private teaching activity, including the territorial expansion of existing institutions, depends on licensing by the competent authorities. To this end, promoters will have to demonstrate “technical-pedagogical, financial and patrimonial capacity”.

In the financial field, the decree maintains the possibility of collecting registrations, tuition fees and additional costs. However, it provides that institutions must specify annually the amounts charged and communicate them to the authorities that protect the sector. Any change in tuition fees or other charges “should be based on the services effectively provided by the private educational institution”.

The diploma also establishes a detailed penalty system, providing for a registered warning, fine, suspension and closure. The fines vary between 20 and 50 minimum salaries of the Public Administration, depending on the seriousness. The planned infringements include the operation without authorization, teaching foreign curricula without accreditation, changing tuition fees without prior communication, teaching content not covered by the licence and the non-inclusion of compulsory Mozambican disciplines in foreign curricula.

The new scheme also introduces rules to ensure the protection of students, stipulating that private institutions “should ensure the continuity of teaching services” and that they are not allowed “to interrupt during the same year” school.