21 November 2008
Changalane — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Friday inaugurated a private higher education institution set up, not in a major city, but in a rural area near the border with Swaziland.
The new, university level body, the Higher Institute of Education and Technology (ISEP), is an initiative of the NGO ADPP-Mozambique, and has been set up in Changalane, an administrative post in Namaacha district, about 80 kilometres west of Maputo.
"I would like to praise ADPP-Mozambique for this gamble, which is helping us deconstruct prejudices about where higher education institutions should be set up", said Guebuza.
ISET was build with financial support of 2.7 million dollars from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It will train educational instructors and development agents for the districts (a course which was suggested by Guebuza himself).
Guebuza said that, ever since the government took the decision to turn the districts into poles of development, there have been noteworthy changes in the districts, with an impact on improving the lives of those living there. He believed the new Institute would have a major impact on Changalane, and on Namaacha district as a whole.
Through its community development courses, stressed the President, ISEP would give primacy to know-how, and to significant interventions at community level. It would thus be in a good position to transmit techniques in the struggle against poverty, and guarantee their multiplier effect in a sustainable manner.
"This is an experiment with an institution which, by being part of the local community, will live intensely the challenges that poverty imposes through daily interaction and exchange of experiences", he said.
Guebuza stressed that the expansion of the road network, and the mass use of new technologies, including mobile telephony, and the internet, will facilitate the communication of Mozambican districts with the rest of the country and the world.
The ISET premises cover an area of 7,000 square metres, including lecture theatres, two meeting rooms, residence for staff and students, and an administrative block.
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