Antonio Cristo Pinto Madeira's 2009 study at the University of the Witwatersrand described "the lack of chemistry practical work in many Mozambican junior secondary schools", so severe that learners often completed junior secondary without conducting a single experiment.
The study followed Grade 9 learners (181 in the pre-test and 171 in the post-test) in four public secondary schools in Beira over eight weeks. Two schools used RADMASTE microchemistry kits and two taught in the usual way. Results improved in all four schools, but learners who used the kits did better on questions that needed conceptual understanding and laboratory knowledge, and their interest in chemistry grew. The author recommended using such kits whether or not a school has a laboratory.
The study is now some years old and we present it as a case, not as a current national statistic. It shows something that has not changed: learners understand science better when they do it.
What Takura Trust is doing
Our Building Science and Technology Infrastructure in Schools - Mozambique project builds or refits 12 solar-powered science and ICT laboratories with offline learning servers, and trains teachers through Zambesi (www.zambesi.ac.zw). AI, Robotics and Manufacturing Skills for Development - Mozambique adds Portuguese-language code camps and makerspace skills. Donors can sponsor training programmes and kits.
