This paper focuses on investigating the dialectic between global and local educational agendas in shaping curriculum transformations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Curriculum transformations are seen as a way to respond to the challenges of promoting Education for All (EFA), but also reflect SSA traditions, social and economic changes. In this article, the issue of quality relates to the relevance of what is taught in the content of the primary curriculum. This contribution argues that it is not only a matter of producing more relevant curricula, but also of how the new curricula are implemented at local level. The trend in curriculum reforms analysed in this paper is: the vocationalisation of the curriculum for primary education. The findings of this article relate to the interaction between global and local interests in shaping curriculum transformation in Mozambique and the challenges posed by its implementation. They also illuminate dynamics of relevance to the SSA region.