Private higher education expands in Mozambique

The private higher education sector in Mozambique is experiencing rapid expansion, particularly over the last five years. According to José Leopoldo Nhampossa, director-general of the Instituto Superior de Transportes e Comunicações (ISUTC), this growth is driven by three primary factors: increasing demand from secondary school graduates, a labor market seeking specialized skills in engineering, transport, communications, and management, and the flexibility of private institutions to offer evening classes and convenient campus locations.

Operating a private institution requires significant investment and high recurring costs, with slow returns on investment. ISUTC, which has operated for 26 years, specializes in engineering, transport, communications, and management. The sector's growth is further necessitated by the saturation of available places within the public education system.