Maputo — Maputo, 8 Jun (AIM) - The Council of Ministers (Cabinet) on Tuesday approved a decree under which public and private institutions of higher education will now be subject to inspection by the educational authorities in Mozambique.

According to the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Alberto Nkutumula, the Education Minister Zeferino Martins has been tasked with appointing a committee to oversee the inspections.

There will be two types of inspections: routine inspections, where the targeted institution will be notified ten days in advance of the visit; and extraordinary inspections with unannounced visits.

"The institutions will have the right to defended themselves whenever inspections are carried out. This means that they entitled to challenge any recommendations that may arise from the inspections", explained Nkutumula.

The Higher Education Law states that institutions should train students who can help the country to fight against poverty. Thus, according to the government spokesperson, the higher education institutions should provide quality education, taking into account the goals set by the government.

Therefore, the Council of Ministers states that the expansion of higher education should always be accompanied by the necessary quality.

"The expansion of universities cannot jeopardize the quality of education and skills acquired by the students. Therefore, the Education Ministry should have the right instruments to perform its task", stressed the Nkutumula.

The number of students in higher education institution across the country rose from 7,156 in 1996 to 80,000 last year, with the number of universities rising from three to just over 40 during the same period. However, this growth has not always maintained the quality of education.

In recognition of this shortcoming the government is taking steps to improve quality. The inspection of higher education institutions seeks to improve the link between the content taught by higher education institutions and the goals set by the State, particularly on the duration of courses, curricula and infrastructures.

Recently the government warned some universities of the urgent need to correct irregularities. At the end of May, the Mussa Bin Bique University was given a fortnight to sort out a number of problems or face closure.