The Australian government has donated books worth about one million US dollars to the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Mozambique's largest and oldest higher education institution.
The donation was delivered by Kay Elson, who is heading an Australian parliamentary delegation on a working visit to Mozambique.
The books are to help modernise the libraries of the UEM faculties of Arts, Sciences and Agronomy.
Speaking to AIM, the UEM vice-chancellor Brazao Mazula described the donation as a "very important contribution".
"Because we are an institution of education and research, this material will contribute significantly to the training of the students and to modernise the libraries, because information is something in permanent evolution, hence the need to update the libraries", said Mazula.
He also stressed the success of the cooperation between Mozambican and the Australian governments, in terms of the scholarships granted by Australia to Mozambican students.
For her part, Elson said that the two governments signed, in 2001, a protocol for an "In-Country Scholarship Assistance Scheme" (ICSAS) for a three year period, that was extended in June for another two years, to allow the students to complete their courses.
"Scholarships are the main Australian assistance to the Mozambican education sector. The Australian support aims at increasing access, promoting equality, and improving the quality of education and training", she said.
She commended Mozambique for its success in overcoming some of the obstacles common to most developing countries. She also expressed satisfaction with the UEM's achievement in terms of the number of women students who are benefiting from the ICSAS scholarships.
"Australia places a strong emphasis on the education of girls, and gives great importance to gender equality in access to education", said Elson.
Fonte: AIM
