When São Tomé and Principe
became independent only 20% of the population could
read and write and education was limited to the
country’s elite.
After 1975 the government made
it a top priority to extend education, investing in
new schools and launching an adult literacy campaign.
Today 62.1% of women and
85.2% of men are literate and the school enrolment
ratio in primary education was 68% in 1996/7.
In recent years the education
sector has faced problems; namely a shortage of
classrooms, with as many as 70 children per class; a
teaching corps that is insufficiently trained and
badly paid; and inadequate levels of books and
learning materials.
The adult literacy programme
has been halted and there has been a reduction in the
number of foreign scholarships available.
Primary schools teach classes
1-4, secondary schools teach classes 5-8 or 9 and
only the Liceu in São Tomé City teaches
pre-university level education.
Since 1993/4 in particular
the enrolment rate has started to drop, there have
been high rates of repetition and drop-out.
The suspension of the school
feeding programme, supported by WFP up until the
school year 1995/6 is thought to have had an impact
on enrolment levels. This programme is to restart in
the school year 1999/2000.
There is a lack of planning
and management capacity, and funding remains
dependent on outside aid.
in history 