ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the situation of academic freedom in Mozambique. Using the standardized research guidelines for case studies on academic freedom, it details the characteristics of the higher education system and examines the current state of academic freedom across areas ranging from legal and institutional protection to the freedom to research and campus security. It finds that despite being a constitutional right, institutional autonomy is restricted in Mozambique at a practical level. The autonomy of public higher education institutions is mostly restricted by government and donors, whereas tuition fees impose limitations for private institutions. Academic freedom is even less protected than institutional autonomy. The freedom to teach, particularly to teach politically and socially sensitive topics, is usually restricted by the classroom presence of intelligence agents and informants. The increasing autocratization of the government in the 2010s, due to the return to low-intensity war, the discovery of natural resources, and the disclosure of the so-called hidden debts, caused deterioration in the protection of human rights and civil liberties, including academic freedom. As a result, some academics have been censored, attacked, tortured, or even killed because of criticism and statements they have made in public, particularly on social media.
