The Failures of Higher Education in Addressing Peace Preservation in Mozambique

One of the greatest challenges for peace preservation, in Mozambique, is that even after the 16 years’ civil war that took place between 1976 and 1992 in the country, few universities promoted peace studies in their academic curricula. This is due to the competition they face in attracting more students for their financial stability, particularly considering the demands of the labor market for qualified professionals in the areas of hard sciences, engineering, and maths, among others. This situation turns Mozambique into a country of greed for power, money and opportunities for personal growth instead of universities promoting peace and the quest for the common good. In order to address these and similar challenges, this reflection presents an overview of higher education’s rejection of social sciences and humanities in Mozambique which paves way for the non-implementation of peace studies in academic programs in most of its university institutions. After having argued for the introduction of such studies, it will be maintained that this kind of studies should be extended to community outreach activities and university debates and conferences. In such events, highly influential political leaders, civil society organizations and the citizenry, for instance, could be invited to the same table of discussions in trying to find better solutions for peace preservation in the country.