Maputo — Mozambican Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane declared on Friday that the development of human capital is the government's top priority, to meet the political, economic and sociocultural challenges facing the country.

Maleiane was speaking in the district of Boane, about 30 kilometres west of Maputo, at a graduation ceremony at the privately owned Unitiva University.

"For our programme of governance, in this cycle, we have chosen, as our number one priority, the development of human capital because we believe that training and education are essential for the affirmation and integration of Mozambicans into social, economic and political life', said the Prime Minister.

To achieve this goal, he added, the government has been adopting policies and actions to ensure that Mozambique has an inclusive and good quality education system.

The government, he said, has taken measures that contribute to the expansion of higher education, and to equitable access to this sub-system. The institutions of higher education should meet the demands of the public administration, of the productive sector and of society in general.

Maleiane urged the Unitiva graduates to prepare to face an ever more competitive and demanding labour market. "We are sure that all of you who have graduated here will be able to put into practice the knowledge acquired during our academic training', he said.

The Vice-Chancellor of Unitiva University, Nelson Chacha, said he is proud of the contribution that the institution has made over the years to the academic and technical training of Mozambicans.

The graduation ceremony, he added, demonstrated the university's role in development and the guarantee of access to good quality higher education.

291 students graduated at the Friday ceremony.