The education system in Mozambique is slowly being rebuilt after the civil war, which destroyed at least 50% of primary schools. Between 1980 and 1985 alone, the number of schools dropped from 5,730 to 3,679. In 1990, private schooling was reintroduced.
Education is compulsory for seven years, but in practice, most students do not study for the full compulsory period. In 1995, there were 4,167 primary schools with 24,575 teachers and 1,415,428 pupils. Secondary schools enrolled 185,181 students, taught by 5,615 teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 62 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, 50% of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school, while only 7% of those eligible attended secondary school. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 2.9% of GDP.
Eduardo Mondlane University is established at Maputo. In 1997, there were 7,143 students and 915 teachers engaged in post-secondary education. The objective of the government is to promote the spread of education at all levels through democratization guided by the state. Since the country still had an estimated adult illiteracy rate of 55.5% in 2000 (males, 40%; females, 71%), literacy training is a high-priority area.