BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND PROGRESS Page 3.
10 March 1965
being started in the area of communication between students and
teachers at the Kurasini International College.  In this latter
group there has been some complaint from the students that the
teachers' explanations are not understandable.  The question
arises as to what causes this problem:  a language problem, a
pedagogical problem or an incapacity of the student to grasp
the theory of the material he is being taught.  To get a better
view of this problem, the Dean of Students of the Mozambique
Institute is now spending three mornings a week attending classes
at the Kurasini International College, watching the students,
listening to the teachers and trying to analyse the problem that
seems to hinder the students' rapid progress in their studies.
5.    This last group is composed of students who have only
recently entered the Mozambique Institute and it is small in
number.  They are students who are slated to go overseas for
study and are taking some preparatory courses while waiting for
their scholarships to be confirmed.  There has been some discussion with the Kurasini International College as to whether or
not these students should enter the College when their time
there would be so short, and for that reason there would be
several disadvantages to their admission to the College:
a. It is disconcerting to the student to move from the
Portuguese school system into a new educational system
and then, upon going abroad, into still another school
system;
b. If the student is not very familiar with the English
language, it is not useful for him to begin studying
English, particularly if the country where he will
study overseas is not English-speaking;  and
c. It is bad for the morale of the students at the
Kurasini International College to see other students
pass in and out of their classes for studies overseas
when they themselves do not receive a scholarship for
overseas study.
A final solution has not been found for the student waiting to
go abroad.  In the meantime, such students are not enrolled at
the Kurasini International College, although it is hoped that
they will have access to the library facilities.  They are being
tutored at the Mozambique Institute, and are following private
studies.
In addition to the above classes, a course on the history and
geography of Mozambique is compulsory for all students,  i^lso,
those few students who do not speak Portuguese are required to
attend Portuguese language classes.
Since this intensive programme, with a more coordinated school
programme at the Kurasini International College, is of recent
origin, it is difficult to say how effective it will be in pushing the students at a faster pace.  At first there was some complaint that the students felt they were being over-worked.  As
far as I can tell, this complaint has in great part died away,
and has been replaced by a greater interest on the part of the
students in their studies.  I would like to mention, however,
that the morale of the students is much higher than it was six
months ago before they moved into the new hostel building.  We
hope that the secondary programme will continue successfully,
will improve and will fulfill the hopes of both the students
and the teachers.