FINANCIAL ACCESSIBILITY IN COST-SHARING POLICIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOZAMBIQUE

José Amilton Joaquim,Luísa Cerdeira

doi:10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i9.2020.1403

Abstract

The massive growth of the student population in higher education institutions has challenged traditional forms of public funding, and cost-sharing policies have been one of the options used by governments. In this sharing, it is important that, depending on the social and economic characteristics of students, issues related to equity and accessibility are safeguarded. This study seeks to understand how cost-sharing policies – taking into account the direct costs of attending higher education, indirect costs, other living expenses and the Mozambicans’ social and economic features – can help or hamper the access to higher education in Mozambique. The selected empirical research contexts encompass eight higher education institutions in the province of Gaza – universities and polytechnics – from the public and private sectors. Empirical data were collected from a questionnaire implemented with higher education students; furthermore, the authors carried out a document analysis on the financing of higher education in Mozambique and worldwide. Allows concluding that, in Mozambique, the cost-sharing model follows a dual-track policy. Also, the part of the financing still ensured by the State is far from meeting the real needs of students and families, due to the high study and living costs, which are well above the students/families’ income. There is no diversification of social support for students, and the only help students have comes from scholarships, whose allocation process is inefficient. This calls into question the issues of higher education equity and accessibility, especially for families with the lowest socio-economic conditions in the country.

Highlights

At the beginning of the 21st century, higher education (HE) has become increasingly important, both for highly industrialised and developing countries
The results from this study allow asserting that there is still a need to reflect on the cost-sharing policies in force in Mozambique, given that they fall short of what is required for not yet allowing accessibility and effective equity for most Mozambican families
It is sought that families enrol their children in HE and have the financial capacity to keep them in both public and private HE

Summary

Introduction

At the beginning of the 21st century, higher education (HE) has become increasingly important, both for highly industrialised and developing countries. It is regarded as a basis for democratic civil societies, an engine of economic growth and a policy instrument for the improvement of individual economic mobility and social justice (Johnstone, 2005). In Mozambique, the concern with HE access and equity derives from the period when the country gained independence in 1975, with the creation of the National Education System, which intended to reverse all the exclusion policies that Mozambicans were subject to in the colonial period. Up to the present day, according to information from the National Directorate of Higher Education (2018), HE access is one of the mainstays of HE development, in addition to expansion and quality. The summary of the law that provided the general guidelines of education, Law 4/83 of the National Education System (NES) (1983) states that “The National Education System ensures access for workers, peasants and their children to all educational levels, and allows the appropriation of science, technique and culture by the working classes” (p. 13).

Methods

Results

Conclusion