All Out Africa volunteer helping a primary school child with his school work pre-COVID.

Education in Eswatini (Eswatini) before COVID-19

Education in Eswatini (Eswatini) before COVID-19 was widely accessible but left plenty of room for improvement. Adult literacy in Eswatini was 88% in 2018 which is well above the average of 65% in sub-Saharan Africa, but below the average of 98% in Europe and Central Asia in 2018. The quality of education needs improvement. In southern Africa, 80% of ten-year-olds are not able to read and understand a simple story – known as learning poverty. Enrollment in High school in Eswatini is around 82%  and of these the dropout rate is about 14%. A major challenge for the parents and guardians of many high school students in Eswatini is the relatively high cost of high school education. Unicef identifies a number of challenges in Eswatini contributing to the high drop-out rates of high school students, including:

• pregnancy,
• the high cost of secondary education,
• high levels of sexual violence, and
• Continuing use of corporal punishment of school children.

Education in Eswatini (Eswatini) and COVID-19, a lost year

In March 2020 the Government of Eswatini (in line with many other countries) declared a state of national disaster owing to the Coronavirus Pandemic and closed down a range of operations including schools. Schools in sub-Saharan Africa shut for an average of 23 weeks. However, schools in Eswatini remained shut for a whole year.

Children from Ezulwini Neighbourhood Care Point.

While efforts have been made to offer some form of education to the thousands of children needing it in Eswatini, lack of access to devices and the high cost of the internet (one of the highest in the world has prevented most children from learning during this time. We have lost a year of education in Eswatini. What is the impact of this? It has yet to be determined but is likely a devastating blow setting many children in Eswatini at a distinct disadvantage.

The impact of a break-in Education

For now, the impact of the school closures in Eswatini on children’s education is not known. A study of children affected by an earthquake in 2005 in Pakistan found that classrooms closing for 3 months resulted in children falling behind by one and a half years. Eswatini should focus a concerted effort on catching up on the lost education of the past year and capitalize on any opportunities to improve the level of education.

Hope for Education in Eswatini

At All Out Africa, we believe that pre-school education provides an essential foundation for successful school learning. We work together with the Ministry of Education, communities and some of our loyal past volunteers to help provide quality pre-school learning for disadvantaged children.

We believe that completion of school is important for all. We would love to see a solution for the high cost of high school education in Eswatini. Tackling this should really be a national priority. We do work together with communities and schools to identify children in need of sponsorship and try to source donors to support their attendance but this is a tiny drop in the ocean and a better long-term solution by the government is needed.

All Out Africa volunteer assisting with teaching at the Neighbourhood Care Point pre-COVID.

We believe that apprenticeship or field-based learning is an essential element of successful tertiary education. We believe that learning by doing is the best way to develop real career skills and to help address the challenge of youth unemployment we run an internship program that connects interns with career opportunities. Interested in supporting this project? Interested in being an intern? Interested in employing an intern?.

An intern during an internship placement pre-COVID.

We also run a field education facility in Eswatini for environmental studies (the Savannah Research Centre) and work with the University of Eswatini and the University of Florida to support tertiary students to carry out field-based learning activities here. We also run a field education facility in Tofo, Mozambique (the Marine Research Centre) and work with the Edwardo Mondlane University and Louisiana State University to support tertiary students to carry out field-based learning activities here. We train Swazi’s and Mozambicans here to become skilled local ecologists which is an important need if we are to address the environmental challenges facing the region. Interested in supporting this project?

Savannah Research Centre team setting up a motion dictator camera. (The photo was taken during the pre-COVID period).

We welcome anyone interested in supporting or getting involved in these projects to help improve education in Eswatini and southern Africa.

Many people in Eswatini (Eswatini) have visited Maputo before, but there are some other destinations that are well worth checking out, and All Out Africa can take you there! Here is our list of the top 3 Mozambique destinations within reach from Eswatini (Eswatini):

Ponta d’ Ouro Beach Tours from Eswatini (Eswatini)

Ponta d’ Ouro Beach Tours from Eswatini (Eswatini) are probably the quickest way to get to a great beach. Located just south of Maputo “Ponta d’ Ouro” is only a 4-hour drive from Ezulwini and can be enjoyed on a 2-night visit. The Ponta bay has beautiful golden sand beaches and warm, clear ocean water, making it a popular choice.

Swim with dolphins in Ponta d’ Ouro

The town is set right on the beach and there is a wide range of accommodations and restaurants to choose from. The highlights of Ponta include the stunning beaches, ocean safaris to swim with wild dolphins and quad biking tours through the breathtaking coastal plains.

One of the restaurants found in Ponta d’ Ouro

Tofo Beach Tours from Eswatini (Eswatini)

Tofo Beach Tours from Eswatini (Eswatini) take you to a proper tropical Indian ocean beach. Tofo is a microcosm of Mozambique with so much on offer. It takes about 9 hours to get to by road from Eswatini (Eswatini) so we recommend no less than a 4-night visit. There are many good restaurants in the town as well as markets to explore. You can choose from a wide range of accommodation many of which are located right on the beach.

This is one of the best places in the world to snorkel alongside whale sharks and scuba dive with manta rays. Other activities included surfing lessons, beach yoga, mangrove kayaking, and sunset sailing trips.

Kayaking Tofo Mozambique’s Indian ocean

Maputo Elephant Reserve (Maputo Special Reserve) Beach Tours from Eswatini (Eswatini)

Maputo Elephant Reserve (Maputo Special Reserve) beach tours take you through one of the most beautiful and untouched coastal nature reserves in southern Africa and it’s just a hop over the Lubombo hills from Eswatini (Eswatini). Nestled just south of Inhaca Island and Maputo it’s only 4 hours from Ezulwini. The park combines miles and miles of exquisite, untouched sand beaches with rolling coastal plains and inland lakes. Elephants are present and fairly commonly seen along with reedbuck, waterbuck, warthog and kudu.

Maputo Elephant Reserve shows a herd of elephants

Accommodation ranges from luxury lodges to mid-range bungalows and camping. What makes this place so unique is that you can combine a game drive safari experience with the beach and diving. This is a place well worth visiting, it’s like paradise on earth.

For more information or to book your own Mozambique tour email us tours@alloutafrica.com

We had one extremely rough day on the ocean where the boat launch was nearly cancelled. Bracing ourselves through the chop, inevitably when we rolled back to get underwater it was absolutely glorious on dive site ‘Giants’. With top-to-bottom visibility, what a relief to get off the surface. As we turn to see where we are heading, a carpet of white and black glides over the rocky bottom – a reef manta ray directly below us! We slowly headed to the sea floor and held our position, but as a small dive group of 4, our new manta friend was so relaxed she circled us several times. She once flashed her belly within two meters of our heads! ID shots taken, we continued the dive.

A diver taking ID Shot

A little way along the tall reef wall, we would often find the resident loggerhead turtle in a rocky overhang, but he just wasn’t there. Perhaps he has moved on since it’s been so long that we have been diving on ‘Giants’. Enjoying the schooling trevally overhead and inspecting the little white-banded cleaner shrimp in their holes, bam. We look up and our old huge loggerhead neighbor almost swam right into us! What a relief to see him, and to know he’s still keeping guard of his rocky nook. Just as our computers had begun to tell us it was time to ascend, we always take a look all around – above and below in the depths. Unbelievable.

A first for me after nearly 5 years of diving these waters, a ragged-tooth shark! Sadly, it was sitting at around 35 meters, and we were forced to begin our ascent. It goes to show – you must always be patient and persistent, you never know what a rough ocean might deliver.

To learn more about our All Out Africa Marine Research project, or talk about how you can get involved, please email bookings@alloutafrica.com