Cuito – The province of Bié needs 134 new schools to absorb 102,000 students who are still outside the teaching/learning system or studying in precarious conditions.
The information was provided on Wednesday by the local governor, Pereira Alfredo, who spoke during the meeting that the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, held with members of the local government.
On that occasion, the governor requested the registration, in the 2025 financial year, of 26 schools, 15 of which were educational institutions with seven classrooms, nine with 12 classrooms and two with 20 classrooms, to allow the inclusion of nearly 18 thousand and 60 children who still study in precarious conditions.
He recalled that, between 2018 and 2023, 97 schools were built, 52 of which were within the scope of the Integrated Municipal Intervention Plan (PIIM), making up a total of 862 new classrooms, which accommodated 97 thousand children who were outside the system. education.
He praised the inclusion, in the French line of financing, of the rehabilitation of the Andulo Middle Agrarian Institute and the program of the Ministry of Education, which aims to re-equip laboratories and other similar equipment.
Despite these gains, the Education sector, provided by 13 thousand and 50 teachers, placed in 827 educational institutions, needs 12 thousand 380 teachers and 55 laboratories for schools in the second cycle of secondary education.
Pereira Alfredo suggested a reflection on second cycle schools, commonly known as (PUNIV), as there are complaints that students who complete their training in these institutions or who attend them encounter difficulties in entering public competitions.
He advocated the elevation of the Pedagogical School of the Higher Institute of Educational Sciences, to increase the training offer, in addition to the possibility of opening master's and doctorate courses, in order to avoid the flight of staff to other places.
In the field of health, he said that the Government planned the construction of four municipal hospitals in Andulo, Camacupa, Catabola and Chitembo, as well as the rehabilitation and equipping of health centers in all communes.
He requested the restructuring of the rehabilitation project of the Hospital Provincial do Bié, whose works have been halted, following the termination of the contract, due to the contractor's incapacity.
However, he highlighted the gains achieved by the sector, with the construction and rehabilitation, between 2018 and 2022, of 21 health units, with emphasis on the General Hospital of Bié, municipal districts of Cuito and Cuemba, with a total of 830 beds.
Pereira Alfredo also recommended the rehabilitation of access roads, especially those connecting municipal headquarters to communal towns and production sites to facilitate the flow of agricultural products.
He also defended the urgent demolition of the Gabiconta building, in the interior of the city of Cuito, due to its advanced state of degradation.
PIIM gains
He highlighted that the province of Bié had, within the scope of the Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM), a portfolio of 226 approved projects, 213 of which were actions and 13 were development projects, with a level of physical execution of 95 percent.
To date, he assured, four municipalities have fully completed their works, namely Andulo, Cunhinga, Cuito and Nharea.
He pointed out that maintaining these gains requires the continuity of similar PIIM projects, so that Bié continues to follow the path of development. ALH/PLB/DOJ
