Mandarin vs Public Health in Schools: The Metaphorical Choice of a Country in a Crisis of Priorities

Alipio Freeman"

Comparing the teaching of Mandarin with the introduction of Public Health in Mozambican schools may seem, at first glance, a surreal exercise, almost a rhetorical whim. However, when the Ministry of Education appears as the protagonist of proposals that it later backtracks on (or pretends to backtrack on), or when we are confronted with fake news that further shakes an already fractured sector, the metaphor gains strength. Whether or not it is true that the intention is to implement the teaching of Mandarin as mandatory is no longer important, the doubt that arises already serves the function of diverting attention from the essential: how are we educating our children about the thing that most directly impacts their lives: health?

Mozambique is one of the countries with the worst health coverage indicators in the world, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, with one doctor for every two thousand people, equipment problems, and basic tests that take months to complete, leading to the death of many people without even knowing what they are suffering from. The education-health relationship seems like fiction when love seems present and desirable. Malaria continues to be one of the main causes of death, cholera reappears cyclically as if it were an old acquaintance, and preventable diseases continue to claim lives in the 21st century. In such a reality, it is unjustifiable that children finish their basic education without knowing, for example, that cholera is caused by a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae or that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus.

Teaching public health from an early age is more than a matter of curriculum — it is an act of collective survival. It is urgent that public schools become spaces for real-life education, where students learn to recognize the symptoms of diseases, the importance of hygiene, nutrition and vaccination. The lack of this type of education creates vulnerable adults who are easily deceived and do not know how to demand their health rights or recognize risky practices.

China, which today exports doctors, medicines and hospital technology to the world, has built much of its medical progress on massive investments in basic health education. Children learn from an early age the fundamentals of prevention, how the human body works, and the values ​​of traditional medicine combined with scientific rigor. More than reducing disease, this inspires vocations: young people begin to see medicine as a noble and possible career. Why don’t we do the same?

It is unfair that we are importing Mandarin before we have even consolidated the teaching of our national languages. Language is a tool for communication, but also for domination. By choosing to teach a foreign language motivated by economic and geopolitical interests, without a thorough and transparent debate, the Mozambican State is compromising its cultural and educational sovereignty.

If the Chinese are so advanced in medicine, why don’t they propose supporting the reform of our curricula with a focus on public health, instead of prioritizing the expansion of their language? The answer may lie in the geopolitical game that is unfolding before our eyes. China, true to its role in the economic wars of the 21st century, seeks to expand its influence through soft power, and education is one of its most effective weapons. Cultural alienation has already begun, and it is being fueled by the complicit apathy of a state that prefers to extend a helping hand rather than build its own foundations.

This cycle needs to be broken. Sexual and reproductive health should be taught without taboos, responsibly and with science as a guide. Girls and boys should grow up aware of their bodies, their rights and their choices. A good educational program does not just teach what to think, but how to think, and this includes teaching how to do, how to care and how to transform.

The gap between doctors and the population grows when people do not understand what is happening to their own bodies. Health education is also health democracy. People cannot be expected to participate in decision-making if they are not given the necessary knowledge.

If we are going to import something from China, let it be an example of investment in health and science education. Let it be the spirit of research, discipline and the appreciation of knowledge as a form of emancipation. Mandarin can wait.

After all, what good is it to speak the language of Confucius if we continue to die because we ignore the causes of cholera?

2025/12/3