Mozambique: Primary School to Be Inaugurated in February

Maputo — The Mozambican branch of the Buddhist Tzu Chi charitable foundation has promised to deliver to the Mozambican government, at the start of the 2026 school year in February, the largest primary school in the country, located in the central city of Beira.

The Esturro Basic School is one of 23 schools being built simultaneously by the Foundation as part of "Project Hope', intended to benefit communities affected by cyclone Idai, which hit Sofala province in 2019.

Speaking on Wednesday, during a visit to the school premises, the chairperson of the Tzu Chi Mozambique Foundation, Dino Foi, said "In September, when the Tzu Chi Deputy Chairperson, Pi Yu Lin, visited, we promised that, by the end of 2025, the largest primary school in the country would be ready. And that is what has happened. The infrastructure, built by the Tzu Chi charitable foundation for Mozambicans, is now ready'.

Construction of the school was budgeted at 4.8 million US dollars. It has 46 classrooms and can cater for 4,600 pupils in two shifts. It will accommodate pupils from the old Esturro Primary School, one of the schools worst hit by the 2019 cyclone.

"For the pupils, this school marks a qualitative leap', said Dino Foi. "They will no longer have to study under precarious conditions, and will instead study in decent facilities. This is another effort made by the Foundation to reduce the challenges the country faces for the entry of new pupils into the national education system'.

For 2026, the Ministry of Education estimates that more than 1.6 million new pupils will enter the education system. But the country cannot accommodate them all: it is short of about 32,000 classrooms.

Of the 23 schools envisaged under "Project Hope', 13 new schools will be available at the start of the 2026 school year.

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