Luanda — The Head of State João Lourenço announced on Wednesday the implementation of a social education program with a municipal impact, as well as the construction and rehabilitation of primary schools throughout the country.
In his State of the Nation Address, President Lourenço clarified that the government is investing 199 million euros in education to reduce the country's shortage of classrooms, particularly in Luanda and the Icolo e Bengo provinces.
Without disclosing exact figures, Lourenço acknowledged that some children still lack access to schools, while others study in inadequate conditions. He noted that "the number of classrooms in public education is still far below demand, given the growing demographic pressure."
Lourenço deemed it essential to address this issue and increase enrollment.
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2025-2026 School Year
For the 2025-2026 school year, the statesman reported that 9.6 million students are enrolled, 126,204 classrooms are available, and 208,488 teachers are employed.
The president emphasized that 85% of public schools offer introductory classes, and the enrollment rate in those schools reached 64.4% in the 2024-2025 school year. However, there is still a need to increase high school enrollment.
Reform
João Lourenço emphasized that several reform and improvement measures have been and continue to be implemented over the years to increase the supply and improve the quality of education.
The president highlighted the approval of the Education Agents Career Statute and the 2018-2022 National Teacher Training and Management Plan as improvements to the rules for admission, career progression, continuing education, workload, and teacher mobility.
Lourenço clarified that in 2018, at least 181,624 education agents were had their categories upgraded with their academic qualifications. He said in 2021, a career advancement competition was opened, taking into account seniority, resulting in the promotion of 133,419 teachers.
The president noted that 68,153 employees have been hired in the education sector in recent years, including 53,653 teachers and 14,500 general career auxiliary employees, having highlighted that from 2018 to 2025, a total of 125,385 teachers were permanently appointed to the education staffs, following their probation period and that a total of 8,653 teachers were hired in the 2023-2024 public external recruitment process.
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"This data clearly demonstrates our concern for human capital, so we will continue working to hire more staff and continuously update the categories, as well as in other areas necessary to enhance the value of the staff serving education," Lourenço said.
For João Lourenço, a predominantly young country faces challenges in access to education, but also in accessing the job market after graduation.
The underscored the need to redirect the training offerings toward the job market, noting that the ongoing reform aims to increase the number of technical and vocational education institutions to serve an increasing number of students.
In his speech, lasting over three hours, he recalled that in 1978, the country implemented its first educational reform, implementing the National Education and Training System, breaking with the colonial model and establishing free basic education up to fourth grade and gradual expansion up to eighth grade.
At that time, he continued, the National Literacy Campaign was also launched, enrolling approximately 2.4 million students in initial basic education and one million in adult education, with the support of more than 700 expatriate professionals.
