The U.S. Virgin Islands are situated in the Caribbean Sea, located some 64 to 80 kilometres east of Puerto Rico. The region consists of three larger islands, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, and approximately 50 smaller cays and islets, amassing a total area of 133 square miles. Due to the inviting climate, the U.S. Virgin Islands attracts a large number of tourists each year, however tourism is one of the region’s only economic resources, and financial aid and funding is provided by the United States. The region is at risk for hurricanes, with an average of 5 passing the region yearly, and in September of 2017 the territory sustained extreme damage from a barrage of two Category 5 hurricanes within the span of two weeks. Irma and Maria together destroyed virtually all crops of St Croix and an estimated 90% of buildings in the territory were destroyed or severely damaged.
Education in the U.S. Virgin Islands is compulsory and government-run schools operate for free. The Virgin Islands Department of Education runs 21 elementary schools, six middle schools and six high schools between two school districts spread between the three main islands. The territory also sports one university, The University of the Virgin Islands, a public liberal arts based university. However, a great number of students attend private schools, and most of the families who relocate to the U.S. Virgin Islands opt to send their children to private or religious affiliated schools, who also charge a tuition fee. Educational challenges in the U.S. Virgin Islands are characterised by poor funding, staff shortages, and struggling infrastructure, causing huge barriers to adequate education for the working class population of the islands.
Unsafe working (and learning) conditions
The vast majority of those who relocate to the U.S. Virgin Islands will decide to send their children to a private school to receive their education. With the Peter Gruber International Academy, situated on St. Thomas, requiring annual tuition ranging from $13,150 to $21,000 excluding materials and accreditation fees, it is starkly obvious that this option is not for everyone. However, given the state of current affairs in public schools, there is no doubt as to why parents would go out of pocket to avoid their children attending the region’s public schools. In September 2023, teachers across St. Croix walked out of their classrooms in protest, claiming that the conditions they are expected to work in are untenable and entirely unsafe. The protesting teachers mention not only the long-standing issues of underfunding for the schools, but also sweltering temperatures that have to be endured in classrooms, many of which have no clean drinking water. This region, famous for its balmy temperatures, has schools operating without air conditioning. The response to this protest has been to implement schedule adjustments, enforcing earlier dismissal and shortened class periods for the schools on St. Croix. In effect, poor funding has caused policy makers to opt for less schooling hours as opposed to providing adequate equipment to the schools.
Teachers are not the only individuals enraged by these conditions, as students took to the streets in protest of the unsafe conditions they are expected to learn and grow under. Students from two historically rivalling highschools put their differences aside as they called for immediate action from leaders. Devastating heat and lack of air conditioning were only the tip of the iceberg for these students, as placards being held high mentioned termites, mould, leaking ceilings, and other structural ailments concerned with the physical school buildings. Further prompting the action was the stark lack of funding for equipment and maintenance workers. School facilities in the U.S. Virgin Islands have sustained damage not only from the hurricanes in 2017, but also many in the 90s and less severe instances in 2021 and 2022. As a result the infrastructure must constantly be repaired and seen to, which these students believe is not being upheld on the side of maintenance due to exceedingly poor funding. One of the schools in which the students came from, Educational Complex High School, is used as a hurricane shelter, which the students reiterated, poor maintenance is not only an educational disadvantage but a genuine health and safety hazard for those living on the island. The students stood in unison demanding answers to where the large budgets dedicated to the Department of Education have been going, and hoping together that their action will spare future students on St. Croix from the conditions they have to currently endure.
Where have all the teachers gone?
Dr. Dionne Wells-Hedrington, commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Education cannot stress enough the risk that classrooms will not be filled when the 2023/2024 school year begins. With learning deficiencies in the region presenting themselves as a challenge at present, the 127 teachers reaching retirement age represent a looming loss to the educational system on the islands and a concerning prospect for the students. The school year 2022/2023 saw 33 teachers separate themselves from the department, expanding the 43 pre-existing teaching vacancies in the region. The strategy being employed by the department in an attempt to tackle this growing issue that has been used for years, to try to recruit teachers from outside the territory to fill the gaps. The Department has been driven to launch a special appeal to recruit degree holders and retired teachers to fill substitute teacher positions. The situation remains dire however with Wells-Hedrington informing lawmakers last year that nearly 200 teachers and support staff retired or resigned from the already struggling public school education system between June 2022 and August 2022. Furthermore, the number of non-certified professionals working in the public schools on the Islands far outnumber those certified, with only 228 certified professionals in comparison to 610 non-certified professionals. Emmanuella Perez-Cassius, the Board of Educations Vice Chairwoman, is adamant that educators need to receive higher pay, consistent curriculum mandates and better working conditions.
A storm of mental distress
The Board of Educations Vice Chairwoman further remarked that schools are sorely lacking formal trauma and mental health alert systems for children who need aid with serious issues. The Islands align with national data, indicating that children in America are in the midst of a mental health crisis. St. Croix Foundation reported in 2021 that 22.5% of middle schoolers had “seriously considered suicide” and 33.5% of high school students “felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks that they stopped doing some usual activities”. As this data was collected in the aftermath of the aforementioned hurricanes, it was seen as a cry for help and a call to action for the community of the Islands, with special emphasis on the education system to support children struggling in the region.
In July 2023 Perez-Cassius made it clear that schools are not up to date with critical information that can protect children from a mental health crisis. As a result she called for direct and ongoing communication between the Department of Education and Department of Health, as well as other organisations concerning treatments, school services, and awareness for students with escalating mental health concerns. The Vice Chairwoman additionally called for the implementation of training on trauma based interventions and approaches. Studies have suggested that students on the islands experience PTSD at a significantly higher level than the general population, and a lack of intervention from the education system is an unfortunate shortfall that devastatingly lets students, and teachers alike, down.
Leadership for change
Although there is no absence of challenges faced by those pursuing education through the system in the U.S. Virgin Islands, these very individuals have shown resilience and perseverance time and time again in the face of challenges. The bravery of the protesting teachers and the voices of strong leaders such as Perez-Cassius and Dr. Wells-Hedrington are not going unseen and unheard as attention is being drawn to these areas of concern. Furthermore, the children in the region have stepped up and shown that they will no longer allow for unsafe conditions to be tolerated. These students have shown responsibility and dedication in a way that no child should ever have to. Their passion and drive through their protests and their demands of lawmakers have made waves in their communities and it will be impossible for those in power to ignore their rightly placed rage. After the terror of Irma and Maria the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands have worked hard to rebuild themselves and their education system, demonstrations of strength that will stand to the region with any hope.
Featured image by “Back to school/ Picture by MChe Lee via Unsplash”
Huggins, L., & Serrant, T. (2021). Exploring the Long-Term Impact of Cascading Disasters in the US Virgin Islands on High School Student and Teacher Mental Health and Resilience.
Escrito por Joan Vilalta Flo, traduzido por Juliana Campos.
Cabo Verde é um país localizado a 500 quilômetros da costa do Senegal, na África. Trata-se de um arquipélago de dez ilhas, a maioria das quais é habitada, com a maior parte da população concentrada na capital, Praia. Sua língua oficial é o Português, herança da colonização pelos portugueses. Entretanto, embora Cabo Verde tenha obtido sua independência em 1975, muitos habitantes falam o crioulo cabo-verdiano como língua principal. O país está situado em um cenário geográfico desafiador: seu território fragmentado torna a prestação de serviços básicos complicada, é uma área propensa à seca e há poucos recursos naturais. No entanto, Cabo Verde tem sido elogiado mundialmente por sua notável estabilidade política e estratégias de redução da pobreza, o que também possibilitou melhorias na prestação de serviços, incluindo a educação.
Crianças fazem fila em escola Cabo-verdiana. Foto por: Duncan CV via Wikimedia Commons.
As mais recentes melhorias na educação cabo-verdiana foram alcançadas graças ao Plano Estratégico da Educação 2017-2021, que visa atingir o 4º Objetivo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável da ONU (Educação de Qualidade) e concentra-se nos seguintes pilares: (i) acesso universal à educação pré-primária (pré-escola) para todas as crianças com idades entre 4 e 5 anos, incluindo aquelas com necessidades especiais; (ii) melhor articulação da educação pré-primária com a educação básica, de modo que todos os alunos recebam dois anos de educação pré-primária; e (iii) acesso igualitário à educação universal gratuita até o 8º ano por meio da implementação de planos de ação social para escolas, visando grupos prioritários e fornecendo educação especial para todos.i
Assim, Cabo Verde tem progressivamente melhorado o acesso à educação primária e secundária. A taxa de escolarização atingiu 92,4% em 2021, e a taxa de alfabetização alcançou 88,5% em 2019, com a maioria dos habitantes acima dos 15 anos alfabetizados.ii Os gastos do governo com educação passaram de 23,3% do orçamento total em 2020 para 24,09% em 2021.iii Em termos de infraestrutura, 97,6% das escolas primárias e secundárias em Cabo Verde têm acesso à água, e 89% estão conectadas à rede elétrica pública. O Plano Estratégico da Educação 2017-2021 permitiu a implementação de programas de aprimoramento, como o programa Educação de Excelência, para o qual foram alocados cerca de 93,2 milhões de dólares americanos em 2020; enquanto 6,4 milhões de dólares foram destinados a bolsas de estudo..iv
A pandemia de Covid-19 trouxe muitas dificuldades para a economia centrada no turismo de Cabo Verde. No entanto, o país foi bastante ágil e eficaz na gestão da crise e na vacinação da maioria da população.v Na área da educação, o país também agiu prontamente. Em 2020, Cabo Verde recebeu um subsídio de 750.000 dólares do GPE (Parceria Global para a Educação), o que contribuiu substancialmente para a formação de professores em ensino à distância, fornecimento de material didático, acesso à televisão em áreas remotas e instalações sanitárias adequadas.vi Após o fechamento das escolas, o Ministério da Educação implementou o programa “Aprender e Estudar em Casa”, com o objetivo de possibilitar aulas dadas através do rádio, da televisão e de tablets, tendo em vista que entre 30% a 40% das famílias ainda não tinham acesso a essas tecnologias. O programa também possibilitou a ampliação da área de cobertura da televisão digital e melhorou a qualidade do sinal.vii Apesar de tudo isso, é importante observar que, atualmente, não há evidências da existência de uma estratégia abrangente de adaptação ao contexto pós-Covid-19 em Cabo Verde.
Vale mencionar um recente avanço na educação cabo-verdiana: a ratificação da Convenção Contra a Discriminação na Educação, determinada em 5 de outubro de 2022 e oficialmente implementada em 5 de janeiro de 2023. Embora os efeitos da aplicação da Convenção ainda estejam por ser vistos, a aprovação do documento alinha o país às recomendações feitas na última sessão da Revisão Periódica Universal (RPU) das Nações Unidas.viii
Entretanto, apesar dos avanços mencionados, a desigualdade, a discriminação nas escolas, a falta de infraestrutura e de qualidade de ensino continuam visíveis em Cabo Verde. Esses são alguns dos problemas que o arquipélago precisará enfrentar e resolver nos próximos anos. As seções a seguir tratam das principais áreas a serem alvo de intervenção.
Desigualdades na Educação
Cabo Verde enfrenta um grande desafio relacionado aos custos “ocultos” da educação, pois, embora o Ensino Fundamental (até o 8º ano) seja gratuito e obrigatório,ix há uma série de custos adicionais como transporte, refeições e materiais escolares, custos que são significativos para famílias de baixa renda.x Este fator é um dos causadores da desigualdade no acesso à educação de qualidade para famílias pobres. Além disso, o Ensino Médio e o Ensino Superior ainda requerem mensalidades (embora autoridades tenham manifestado a intenção de tornar gratuito Ensino Médio, do 9º ao 12º ano),xi perpetuando a desigualdade educacional com base no nível econômico de cada família. Adiciona-se a isso a desigualdade entre famílias que vivem em áreas rurais e as que vivem em espaços urbanos.xii As famílias de áreas rurais têm menos acesso à educação devido ao poder econômico geralmente mais baixo e à falta de acesso às tecnologias e à internet, dado o seu alto custo (especialmente relevante durante a pandemia de Covid-19)..xiii
Quanto ao Ensino Superior, embora tenham sido feitos esforços para um fornecimento mais amplo, a taxa de escolarização entre 2019-2020 foi de 23,5%, 37 pontos percentuais abaixo dos anos finais do Ensino Fundamental, indicando uma barreira no acesso ao Ensino Superior.xiv Um dos desafios que contribuem para essa realidade é o cenário geográfico de Cabo Verde; tratando-se de um arquipélago, proporcionar um Ensino Superior acessível a todas as áreas é uma tarefa extremamente complexa. Apenas as ilhas de Santiago e São Vicente xv possuem instituições de Ensino Superior. A dificuldade de acesso à essas instituições, juntamente ao fato de o Ensino Superior não ser gratuito, gera pouco incentivo para estudantes que vivem em áreas remotas e têm menor poder econômico..xvi
Há também desigualdade linguística. Enquanto para a maioria população cabo-verdiana a primeira língua é o Crioulo Cabo-verdiano (CCV), o Português ainda é a única língua oficial e a língua de ensino, fato que afeta os estudantes que têm exposição limitada a essa língua, especialmente aqueles que vivem em áreas rurais e locais remotos, geralmente membros de famílias de baixa renda. Esses alunos enfrentam maiores dificuldades e uma desvantagem de aprendizado. Embora alguns programas de educação bilíngue tenham sido redigidos, a implementação dessas iniciativas é insuficiente, frágil e carece de respaldo político e econômico. Essa desigualdade também representa uma desconexão entre os sistemas formais de educação e a sociedade; políticas direcionadas para preencher essa lacuna inevitavelmente contribuirão também para a construção de identidade e coesão social.xvii
Finalmente, apesar dos objetivos expressos no Plano Estratégico de Educação 2017-2021, como melhorar o acesso e a qualidade da educação para estudantes com deficiência (17,5% da população possui pelo menos um tipo de deficiência),xviii e ampliar a capacitação de profissionais com o auxílio da UNICEF, xix a implementação prática de estratégias inclusivas para esses estudantes tem sido insatisfatória. Muitas pessoas com deficiência não têm acesso à educação, não recebem os benefícios necessários para frequentar a escola e as infraestruturas e tecnologias educacionais, em grande parte, não são adaptadas a elas..xx
No que diz respeito à igualdade de gênero, bons resultados foram alcançados na educação pré-escolar e no ensino fundamental: o índice de paridade foi de 0,98 e 0,93, respectivamente, demonstrando uma presença ligeiramente maior de meninos nas escolas. No entanto, o desafio permanece nos níveis de ensino médio e superior, nos quais a representação feminina é significativamente maior, com índices de paridade de 1,2 para o ensino médio e 1,5 para o ensino superior. Incentivos para atrair meninos e homens nesses setores são necessários para garantir a igualdade..xxi E, embora haja uma maior presença feminina no Ensino Médio e Superior, a taxa de alfabetização de homens é atualmente quase 10% maior do que a taxa feminina, o que evidencia uma defasagem de ensino de meninas e mulheres também. xxii
Apesar da melhoria significativa graças à introdução de um módulo dedicado aos estudos de gênero no currículo do ensino médio, os currículos ainda contêm estereótipos discriminatórios em relação às mulheres, o que é refletido na sub-representação feminina em campos de estudo normalmente dominados por homens, como na área tecnológica.xxiii Além disso, embora as questões de gênero estejam presentes nos currículos, a educação sexual deixa a desejar. Apesar de ser reconhecido como importante para o desenvolvimento e segurança dos estudantes, o Guia de Orientação Sexual nas Escolas, desenvolvido com a ajuda do UNFPA (Fundo de População das Nações Unidas), beneficiou poucos estudantes devido a falta de interesse público e a à sensibilidade do tema. Um módulo mais abrangente de educação sexual ainda está para ser implementado de forma eficaz em Cabo Vede.xxiv
É importante observar que não foi possível encontrar dados sobre minorias com base na orientação sexual ou identificação de gênero em Cabo Verde; da mesma forma, não foram encontrados mecanismos de proteção para tais minorias ou estratégias de educação sobre o assunto. Apesar de ser um tópico sensível e atualmente invisível estatisticamente, avanços nessa área podem ser positivos para garantir que todos os estudantes sejam livres e desfrutem de tratamento igualitário por parte de colegas e equipe.
A Qualidade de Ensino
É necessário realizar melhorias não apenas na oferta de Ensino Superior, mas também em sua qualidade. O Ensino Superior em Cabo Verde é relativamente recente, criado nos últimos 20 anos. Considerando que ainda está em seus estágios iniciais, o setor carece de níveis mínimos de qualidade: embora a recém-criada Agência Reguladora do Ensino Superior (ARES) esteja começando a realizar avaliações para melhorar o desempenho do setor, xxv autoridades ainda precisam construir um sistema abrangente de medição da qualidade do ensino e mecanismos para alinhar o conteúdo com os objetivos e necessidades nacionais, e garantir o acesso a material educacional, bem como o acesso às tecnologias.xxvi
Adicionalmente, embora cerca de 76% das crianças atualmente tenham acesso à pré-escola, existem diferenças regionais, com áreas que apresentam percentagens ainda mais baixas. A educação na primeira infância e na pré-escola foram focos do Plano Estratégico de Educação 2017-2021, mas, na prática, foram amplamente negligenciadas. Ainda falta a implementação de mecanismos legais adequados para garantir o acesso universal, obrigatório e gratuito à pré-escola. O orçamento atual é de cerca de 0,3% do capital do Estado e a qualificação profissional dos professores de pré-escola é insuficiente (apenas 30% possuem a qualificação necessária).xxvii Além disso, não há acesso suficiente à ferramentas tecnológicas nessas instituições, adicionado à falta de capacitação dos professores em TIC (Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação).xxviii
Um dos principais problemas do setor educacional de Cabo Verde é a qualidade de ensino, refletida nas baixas taxas de desempenho no ensino fundamental. Na área de linguagem, 6 em cada 10 crianças demonstraram grande dificuldade ou incapacidade de interpretar as regras básicas de funcionamento da língua xxix, e na área de matemática, uma média de apenas 2,85% das crianças obteve sucesso nos principais assuntos abordados.xxx Apesar dessas estatísticas, o país ainda não implementou um sistema nacional abrangente para medir os resultados de aprendizagem em qualquer nível de educação. xxxi
Quanto ao acesso à tecnologia, embora a maioria das escolas esteja conectada à rede elétrica pública e o Plano Estratégico de Educação de 2017-2021 tenha permitido a incorporação de mais ferramentas tecnológicas e um currículo mais robusto em habilidades de TIC, apenas 17% das escolas têm acesso à internet.xxxi Isso ocorre mesmo considerando que Cabo Verde possui uma das maiores taxas de acesso na África. O problema está no custo para se conectar, um dos mais altos do mundo. O acesso à internet ainda é considerado caro para grande parte da população, especialmente para aqueles com menor renda, gerando desigualdades também nesse aspecto. xxxiii
Conclusão e Recomendações
Como conclusão, algumas recomendações tendo em mente os principais desafios do sistema educacional em Cabo Verde são oferecidas em nome da Broken Chalk.
Quanto aos custos ocultos da educação, o governo poderia reduzi-los fornecendo acesso gratuito (ou de baixo custo) a transporte, material e serviços nutricionais, com atenção especial às famílias de baixa renda e aos estudantes que vivem em áreas rurais remotas.
Sobre a cobertura educacional e a oferta universal, o governo deve agir de acordo com os objetivos traçados e continuar a estender a educação gratuita, acessível e obrigatória para os anos pré-escolares e para o ensino superior, com atenção especial às famílias de baixa renda. Mais especificamente em relação ao Ensino Superior, seria positivo gerar campanhas de incentivo para aumentar a taxa de escolarização, especialmente para os homens; juntamente com a expansão da presença de instituições de ensino superior em todos os territórios, garantindo melhor acesso à universidade para aqueles em áreas mais isoladas.
Seria desejável implementar programas nacionais para superar a desigualdade gerada pela barreira linguística. A Língua Cabo-verdiana deve estar presente em todas as etapas da educação e deve-se garantir que alunos com menor exposição ao Português não fiquem para trás. As iniciativas de educação bilíngue devem ser aprimoradas por meio de equipes multidisciplinares que incluam membros da comunidade local que compreendam as necessidades específicas de linguagem da região.
Para promover uma maior inclusão, o governo e demais autoridades deveriam considerar tornar a infraestrutura educacional, os currículos e o corpo docente mais sensíveis e adaptáveis aos estudantes com deficiência ou com necessidades especiais. Deve-se fornecer acesso adequado a edifícios, material educacional inclusivo e treinamento voltado a todos os educadores, com o objetivo de garantir o acesso e a igualdade para esses alunos.
Quando a questões de gênero, os programas e políticas educacionais devem continuar a assegurar o acesso de meninas e mulheres à educação em todos os níveis. Assim, buscar alcançar uma maior igualdade nas taxas de alfabetização, trabalhando continuamente para eliminar estereótipos de gênero e incentivando a presença de mulheres em campos de estudo tradicionalmente dominados por homens. Adicionalmente, seria positivo implementar um programa sobre sexualidade no Ensino Fundamental, para garantir a segurança e saúde dos estudantes e eliminar estereótipos prejudiciais à diversidade com base na orientação sexual.
Uma maneira eficaz de melhorar a qualidade da educação poderia ser a implementação de um sistema nacional de avaliação e análise da qualidade do ensino para garantir uma oferta adequada de conteúdo em todas as etapas educacionais e identificar deficiências na qualidade do ensino, especialmente nas áreas de linguagem e matemática no Ensino Fundamental. Juntamente com a avaliação adequada e análise do desempenho dos alunos, modos ineficazes de ensino seriam mais facilmente identificados, permitindo inovações e o alinhamento dos currículos às necessidades da sociedade cabo-verdiana, preparando melhor os alunos para o mercado de trabalho. Da mesma forma, o governo e as instituições educacionais devem continuar garantindo que todos os professores sejam qualificados para fornecer uma educação adequada ao nível que lhes é atribuído. Isso deve ser aplicado especialmente nos anos pré-escolares, nos quais a maioria dos professores não possui a devida qualificação.
Por fim, diante dos eventos recentes e em vista dos desenvolvimentos globais futuros, é essencial garantir um maior acesso a ferramentas tecnológicas para fins educacionais, tanto para escolas quanto para famílias, além de facilitar o acesso à internet. Essa democratização é crucial considerando o papel das tecnologias no mercado de trabalho global. É igualmente importante criar metodologias de educação flexíveis e adaptáveis, especialmente em um país onde a acessibilidade geográfica ao ambiente escolar é tão complexa.
xiii Patrício, M. R., & Moreno, C. (2021). Digital technologies in preschool education: a study with Cape Verdean educators. In Proceedings of the 14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2021) (pp. 8403-8407). IATED. ; Cabo Verde National Commission for UNESCO. (2022). National Review of the Implementation of SDG 4. Retrieved from: https://transformingeducationsummit.sdg4education2030.org/system/files/2022-09/CaboVerde-NC%20report%20.pdf
xv Ferreira, E. S., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2021). Challenges of a small insular developing state: Cape Verde. Revista de Estudios e Investigación en Psicología y Educación, (1), 125-134.
xvi Resende-Santos, J. (2021). Education for development in Africa: Rethinking higher education in Cabo Verde. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 22-38. doi: 10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.22
xvii Bermingham, N., DePalma, R., & Oca, L. (2022). The “Access Paradox” in Bilingual Education in Cabo Verde. Modern Languages Open, 1 ; Bail, J. (2020, September 8). Cape Verde. Humanium. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from: https://www.humanium.org/en/cape-verde/
xxvi Resende-Santos, J. (2021). Education for development in Africa: Rethinking higher education in Cabo Verde. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 22-38. doi: 10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.22
xxviii Patrício, M. R., & Moreno, C. (2021). Digital technologies in preschool education: a study with Cape Verdean educators. In Proceedings of the 14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2021) (pp. 8403-8407). IATED.
xxxi Resende-Santos, J. (2021). Education for development in Africa: Rethinking higher education in Cabo Verde. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 22-38. doi: 10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.22 ; Global Partnership for Education. (n.d.). Cabo Verde. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from: https://www.globalpartnership.org/where-we-work/cabo-verde
Cape Verde is a country located 500 kilometers away from the coast of Senegal, Africa. It is an archipelago of ten islands, most of which are inhabited, with most of the population concentrating in the capital Praia. The official language is Portuguese, given that it is a former Portuguese colony that obtained its independence in 1975, many speak Cape-Verdean Creole as their main language. It is a country placed in a challenging geographical setting: its fragmented territory makes the provision of services complicated, it is an area prone to draught and there are few natural resources to benefit from. However, Cape Verde has been praised worldwide for its salient political stability and poverty reduction strategies, which has also enabled improvements in service provision, including that of education.
Children line up in a school in Cape Verde. Photo by Duncan CV in Wikimedia Commons.
The most recent improvements in Cape Verdean education have been made thanks to the 2017-2021 Strategic Education Plan, aiming at accomplishing the 4th SDG of Quality Education, and focused on the following pillars: (i) universal access to pre-primary education for all children aged 4 to 5 years, including those with special needs; (ii) better articulation of pre-primary education with basic education so that all students receive two years of pre-primary education; and (iii) equal access to free universal education up to Grade 8 through the implementation of social action plans for schools, targeting priority groups and providing special education for all.i
Hence, Cape Verde has progressively improved access to primary and secondary education. The schooling rate scored 92.4% in 2021, and the literacy rate reached a 88.5% in 2019, with most over 15-years-old knowing how to read and write.ii Government expenditure on education shifted from 23.3% of the total budget in 2020 to 24.09% in 2021.iii In terms of infrastructure, 97.6% of elementary and secondary schools in Cape Verde have access to water, and 89% are connected to the public electricity grid.The 2017-2021 Strategic Education Plan allowed for the implementation of education enhancement programs such as Education of Excellence, to which some 93.2 million US$ were allocated in 2020; while 6.4 million US$ were allocated to scholarships.iv
The Covid-19 pandemic caused much struggle to the tourism-centered economy of Cape Verde. However, the country was quite timely and effective in managing the crisis and providing vaccination to most of the population.v In the area of education, it also acted promptly. In 2020, Cape Verde received a grant of 750.000$ from the GPE (Global Partnership in Education) which substantially contributed to teacher training in distance teaching, provision of learning material, as well as TV access to remote areas, and sufficient sanitary facilities.vi After the closure of schools, the Ministry of education implemented the “Learning and Studying at Home” program, which enhanced lesson delivery through radio, television and the use of tablets, in view of the fact that 30% to 40% of the families did not have access to such technology. The program also allowed for the extension of the digital television coverage area and improved signal quality.vii Despite all of this, it should be noted that there is currently no evidence of the existence of a comprehensive strategy to adapt to the post-Covid19 context in Cape Verde.
It is worth mentioning that a significant development in Cape Verdean education is the recent ratification of the Convention Against Discrimination in Education by Cape Verde on the 5th of October 2022, which has entered into force on the 5th of January 2023. Although its effective application is yet to be seen, this action alone has fully implemented several recommendations made in the last United Nations Universal Periodic Review session.viii
Despite the previously mentioned developments in the Cape Verdean educational sector, several situations of inequality, discrimination, lack of educational infrastructure and quality education in education have been reported up to this point. These are the problems that the archipelago will need to face and solve in the years to come, and the following sections will outline the main areas that need to be targeted.
Inequalities in Education
Cape Verde currently faces a challenge regarding the hidden costs of education. Although Primary Education and Secondary Education (up to 8th grade) is free and mandatory,ix,there is a range of extra costs, including transportation, meals, or certain school material, that is significant for low-income families. This represents an inequality in access to quality education for poor families.x Moreover, secondary Education and Higher Education (university) remain subject to fees (although authorities have stated the intention to make education free from 9th to 12th grade),xi allowing for inequality based on the economic level of each family. This also intersects with the existing inequality between families who live in rural areas and families that live in urban spaces,xii where the former have less access due to general lower economic capacity, and lack of technology and internet connectivity due to its high cost (especially relevant during Covid-19).xiii
As regards Higher Education, although there have been great efforts to supply it widely, it must be noted that the schooling rate for the 2019-2020 period is of 23.5%, 37 points lower than that of secondary school, indicating an obstacle in its access.xiv One of the difficulties in this area is the geographical setting of Cape Verde; being an archipelago the mission of providing accessible higher education to all areas is deeply complex and has not been achieved. There are only Higher Education institutions in the islands of Santiago and São Vicente.xv This, together with the fact that Higher Education is not free, generates little incentive for students who live in remote areas and possess a low economic level to enter Higher Education.xvi
There is also inequality around language. While for most of the Cape Verdean population the first language is Cape Verdean Language (CVL), Portuguese is still the only official language as well as the schooling language. This continues to produce evident inequalities for students who have limited exposure to Portuguese, namely those who live in rural areas and remote locations, usually from low-income families too. Such students will have a learning disadvantage and increased difficulty when learning. Although some bilingual education programs have been reportedly launched, the implementation of such initiatives is insufficient, weak and lacks political and economic backup. This inequality is also representative of a disconnection between the formal education systems and society; policies directed at filling this gap will inevitably also contribute to identity building and social cohesion.xvii
Finally, despite the political will expressed in the Education Strategic Plan 2017–2021 to improve access and quality of education to disabled students (17,5% of the population have at least 1 handicap),xviii and increased staff capacitation aided by UNICEF,xix it has been reported that practical implementation of inclusive strategies for such students has been deficient. Many disabled people do not attend education and do not receive the necessary benefits in order to do so, and the infrastructures and educational technologies have not adapted to them for the most part.xx
With respect to gender parity, good results have been achieved in preschool and primary education: the parity index scored 0.98 and 0.93 respectively, both cases showing a slightly higher male representation. However, the challenge remains in secondary and higher education levels where female representation is significantly and increasingly higher, the parity index scores 1.2 for secondary education and 1.5 for higher education. Incentives to attract males in those sectors is necessary to ensure equality.xxi And while there is a significantly higher female presence in secondary and higher education, the literacy rate for men in currently almost 10% higher than for women, which displays an access inequality for women too.xxii
Despite significant improvement through the introduction of a gender module in the secondary education curriculum, the curricula reportedly still contain discriminatory stereotypes towards women, which is also reflected in the fact that women are poorly represented in the fields of study typically dominated by men, such as in the technological field.xxiii Moreover, although gender matters are beginning to be present in the curricula, education on sexuality is deficient. It has been acknowledged as important for the development and safety of students by the government, and a Sexual Guidance in Schools guide has been developed with the aid of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), but due to limited political will and the sensitivity of the topic, very few students have benefited from such education. A comprehensive module on sexuality education is yet to be implemented effectively.xxiv
It should be noted that the figure regarding minorities based on sexual orientation or gender identification in Cape Verde could not be found; and similarly, no mechanisms of protection of such minorities or education on the matter could be found. Despite it being a potentially sensitive topic that is now invisible to the sector, advances on this area could be positive to ensure that all students are free and enjoy equal treatment by peers and staff.
Deficiencies in Education
Firstly, there need to be improvements not only in the provision of Higher Education but also in the quality of it. Higher Education in Cape Verde is a relatively new sector emerged in the span of the last 20 years. Considering that it is still at its infancy, the sector lacks quality: although the newly formed Higher Education Regulatory Agency (Agência Reguladora do Ensino Superior – ARES) is beginning to conduct evaluations and checks in order to improve performance,xxv the sector still needs to build a comprehensive system of teaching quality evaluation, mechanisms to better align tertiary education content to the national goals and needs, and ensure access to educational material and technologies, as well as connectivity.xxvi
Secondly, although around 76% of children currently have access to preschool education, there are regional differences with areas that display even lower percentages. Early Childhood education and Preschool was formally one of the foci of the 2017-2021 Education Strategic Plan, but in practice it has been largely neglected. There still is a lack of adequate legal mechanisms to ensure universal preschool mandatory and free access, the preschool budget is around 0.3% of the state budget, and there is a lack of professional qualification of preschool teachers (only 30% have the necessary qualification).xxvii Moreover, technological access and tools have been notably missing in preschools, together with a lack of teacher training in ICT.xxviii
Thirdly, one of the most significant problems in Cape Verde’s education sector is the quality of the education, reflected in low performance rates in primary school. In the area of language, 6 out of every 10 children demonstrated great difficulty or inability to interpret the basic rules of functioning of languagexxix, and in the area of mathematics an average of only 2.85% of children were able to successfully deal with the main areas of study.xxx Furthermore, Cape Verde still does not have to this date a comprehensive national system to measure learning outcomes at any level of education.xxxi
Regarding technological access, it should be noted that although most schools are connected to the public electricity grid, and that the 2017-2021 Strategic Education Plan has allowed for the incorporation of more technological tools and a stronger curriculum on ICT skills, only the 17% of schools have access to internet.xxxii This is even though Cabo Verde has one of the highest rates of internet access in Africa. The cost of internet is the problem, as it is among the highest is the world; it is still too high for many to obtain, especially for those with lower income, generating a situation of inequality as well.xxxiii
Conclusion and Recommendations
By way of conclusion, some recommendations highlighting the main challenges of the educational system in Cape Verde will be offered on behalf of Broken Chalk.
As regards the hidden costs of education, the government should try to reduce them by providing free (or low-cost) access to transportation, material, and nutritional services with special attention to low-income families and students who live in remote rural areas which might increase the economic cost of education.
Regarding educational coverage and universal provision, the government should act in accordance with their own stated intentions, and continue to extend free, accessible, and mandatory education to the preschool years and to higher education, with special attention to poor families. More specifically regarding Higher Education, it could be positive to generate incentive campaigns to increase the schooling rate, particularly for males; together with expanding the presence of higher education institutions to all territories or better ensuring affordable access to university from remote places.
It would be desirable to implement comprehensive national programs to overcome the inequality around language. Cabo Verdean Language should be significantly more present in all stages of education; particular attention should be paid to students with lower exposure to Portuguese to ensure they do not fall behind, and bilingual education initiatives should be enhanced through multidisciplinary teams that include local community members that understand the specific language needs of the area.
To promote greater inclusion, the government and educational entities should consider making education infrastructure, curricula, and staff more sensitive and adaptable to disabled or special needs students. Proper access to buildings, inclusive educational material and a comprehensive disability-oriented training module for all educators should be provided to ensure the access and equality of such students.
Also as regards inclusivity and equality, educational programs and policies should continue to ensure girls and women’s access to education at all levels to achieve greater equality in literacy rates, to continue to work towards the elimination of gender stereotypes and to incentivize the presence of women in male dominated study fields. Additionally, it could be positive to implement a comprehensive educational program in secondary school regarding sexuality to guarantee the safety and health of students and to eliminate diversity-damaging stereotypes on the basis of sexual orientation.
An effective way to improve the quality of education could be to implement a comprehensive national system of evaluation and assessment of teaching quality to ensure an adequate provision of content at all educational stages and to identify deficiencies in teaching quality, particularly in the area of language and mathematics in primary school. Together with proper evaluation and analysis of student performance, this could overcome ineffective modes of teaching that result in low performance, allow for educational innovation, and better align curricula to the needs and goals of Cape Verde’s society, better preparing students to face the labor market. Similarly, the government and educational institutions should continue ensuring that all teachers are qualified to provide adequate education to the level they are assigned to. This should be particularly applied to the preschool levels, where most teachers do not have the proper qualification, which could hinder the development of students.
Lastly, in view of recent events and in view of the future global developments, it is essential to ensure greater access to technological tools for educational purposes both for schools and families, as well as facilitating internet access. Again, this seems especially important considering the introduction of technologies in the global labor market, and it is also important to provide flexible and adaptable modes of education, particularly in a country where geographical accessibility to education might be complicated.
xiii Patrício, M. R., & Moreno, C. (2021). Digital technologies in preschool education: a study with Cape Verdean educators. In Proceedings of the 14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2021) (pp. 8403-8407). IATED. ; Cabo Verde National Commission for UNESCO. (2022). National Review of the Implementation of SDG 4. Retrieved from: https://transformingeducationsummit.sdg4education2030.org/system/files/2022-09/CaboVerde-NC%20report%20.pdf
xv Ferreira, E. S., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2021). Challenges of a small insular developing state: Cape Verde. Revista de Estudios e Investigación en Psicología y Educación, (1), 125-134.
xvi Resende-Santos, J. (2021). Education for development in Africa: Rethinking higher education in Cabo Verde. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 22-38. doi: 10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.22
xvii Bermingham, N., DePalma, R., & Oca, L. (2022). The “Access Paradox” in Bilingual Education in Cabo Verde. Modern Languages Open, 1 ; Bail, J. (2020, September 8). Cape Verde. Humanium. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from: https://www.humanium.org/en/cape-verde/
xxvi Resende-Santos, J. (2021). Education for development in Africa: Rethinking higher education in Cabo Verde. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 22-38. doi: 10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.22
xxviii Patrício, M. R., & Moreno, C. (2021). Digital technologies in preschool education: a study with Cape Verdean educators. In Proceedings of the 14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2021) (pp. 8403-8407). IATED.
xxxi Resende-Santos, J. (2021). Education for development in Africa: Rethinking higher education in Cabo Verde. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 22-38. doi: 10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.22 ; Global Partnership for Education. (n.d.). Cabo Verde. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from: https://www.globalpartnership.org/where-we-work/cabo-verde
Cape Verde is an insular country located approximately 500 km off the African west coast. This archipelago, formed by 10 main islands and several smaller ones, is home to approximately 550,000 people, of which more than one-fifth are children between the ages of 6 and 14 and therefore obligated to attend school for a minimum of nine years, according to the Education Law of Cape Verde.
After Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975, the country set out to establish an educational system that would better serve Cape Verdeans. The early years were marked by significant challenges as the legacy of colonialism left the nation with limited means and structure to create access to universal education.
During the 80s and 90s, regular reforms were undertaken by the government to gradually improve the functioning of the education system and the quality of services provided to its people.
One of the most significant developments has been expanding access to education, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. Today, more than 80% of the population is literate, and most children in Cape Verde attend school, bringing the country close to achieving the Millennium Development Goals concerning universal basic education.
However, an in-depth analysis of the educational system reveals that there are still significant challenges to overcome, such as disparities in the quality of education experience between central and more rural areas, lack of qualified personnel for specialized and crucial areas like sciences and technologies and a defaulted articulation between the curricular program and the needs of the national economy.
The kindergarten graduation in Santiago island. Photo by Duncan CV
Insularity as a barrier to standardize education across the country.
Although, in general, there’s a relatively even distribution of population across the nation, Santiago is home to nearly 35% of its total population and, therefore, the most populous island.
Despite the decentralization policies implemented in the last years to empower local governments and address the unique needs of their communities, historically, there has been criticism about the unequal distribution of resources and investment funnelled to Praia (the country’s capital) and other regions.
Alongside other spheres of the national economy like trading, commerce, medical care and other specialized services, the quality of education experienced in the capital and urban centres is different to what is the reality in more remote areas of the country. Schools in Praia tend to have better resources and infrastructures, more qualified teachers, and higher educational standards. In contrast, some schools in remote areas often lack essential resources like textbooks, electricity, and running water.
While there is a significant concentration of schools in urban areas, students in rural regions and less central islands like Brava, Santo Antao, and Sao Nicolau see themselves forced to travel further distances to attend school but unable to rely on a public transportation system to cover regular allocation. Because many families cannot afford the transportation cost, in this scenario, the distance to schools can be a significant barrier for children to access and complete their education. For many communities in the more interior regions of these islands, roads and infrastructures are debilitated. During the rainy season, travelling can be dangerous, leaving them temporarily isolated and students unable to travel safely to school.
The inequality in the level of education experienced across different regions of the cape-Verdean territory can have a considerable impact on the academic prospect and life opportunities of the youngsters. If those living in remote locations have limited access to quality education and training, their ability to secure employment in areas that require higher qualifications is being hindered and limits the extension of their contribution to the country’s development.
Neglected, with fewer resources and qualified teachers, schools in rural areas experience higher dropout rates, and illiteracy rates are twice more elevated than observed in the capital.
One way to balance the plate and pave a path towards a more standardized education across the country could be by redirecting social funds. Social action and funding are crucial to universal access to education in Cape Verde. Still, the internal sectoral analysis revealed that the education system consumes most of this resource with personnel and social support in primary education. Distribution of these funds that prioritized more impoverished groups could be a way to close the existing gap.
The modernization of the curricular programversus the needs ofthe economy
Since 2017, cape-verdean schools embraced a new curricular matrix to adapt to the country’s and the world’s modern challenges.
In an interview for a national newspaper, the cape-verdean National Director of Education detailed that the reform was designed to approximate the ones followed by foreign and modern countries so that cape-verdean students can respond to the challenges of the country but also prepare them to be capable of integrating foreign markets. Although around 40% of the population lives in rural areas, food production has a low weight in the country’s GDP (4.9% in 2020), which sentences the country to bare crushing importation rates to sustain its internal food necessities. On the other hand, significant but more labour areas of the national economy like agriculture, fisheries, and livestock are poorly supported by the curricular program leaving those who live from it stuck with precious but outdated knowledge and techniques passed down through generations.
In resemblance to what is currently being made around tourism, tailoring the national program to provide students with the knowledge on how to leverage technology to enhance local food production, improve the quality and quantity of livestock and expand their resources to take better advantage of their vast and rich maritime territory, Cape-Verd stands an excellent chance to enhance productivity, sustainability, and efficiency in the food production reducing its reliance on imported goods and bring primary products at a more accessible price to its people.
In the context of scarce natural resources and recurrent cyclical periods of drought, Cape-verd could resort to education to empower the next generation of farmers, fishermen, and agricultural professionals with skills to employ cutting-edge technologies like precision agriculture, aquaculture systems, and intelligent livestock management practices. Modernizing their curricular programs centred on the needs of the internal economy and forming qualified people with skills to suppress those needs can ultimately lead Cape-Verd to achieve self-sufficiency and security at all levels.
Teachers – The vehicle to modernization
In Cape Verde, one of the challenges faced by the educational system is the limited number of teachers with qualifications and specialization. Although this “lack” constitutes a more significant issue in rural areas, it’s a problem that touches the whole educational system, particularly in specialized areas such as science and technology. Although there has been considerable growth in the percentage of active teachers with higher education due to governmental programs, this number still needs to be increased across the primary and secondary levels of education, which can hinder their ability to effectively teach subjects requiring specialized knowledge and expertise. Areas like science and technology play crucial roles in today’s rapidly evolving world, and students need competent and knowledgeable teachers to guide them in these fields. Furthermore, as the ultimate facilitator of implementing curricular reforms, the teacher must be able to follow and absorb information to educate the students properly.
Continuous training for teachers and access to the latest research and pedagogical approaches empowers teachers to provide accurate and up-to-date information, cultivating an intellectually stimulating environment that nurtures students’ curiosity and prepares them to thrive in an ever-evolving world. Ultimately, investing in teachers’ professional growth and development is an investment in the quality of education and students’ future success.
To address this challenge, efforts should be made to enhance teacher training programs, provide professional development opportunities, and encourage teachers to specialize in specific subjects. By investing in the professional development of teachers and promoting specialization, Cape Verde can improve the quality of education in science and technology, equipping students with the necessary skills for a rapidly advancing future.
Broken Chalk is a non-profit NGO that investigates and reports human rights violations in education worldwide while advocating for and supporting human rights-focused educational development. By submitting this report, Broken Chalk aims to contribute to the 44th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cape Verde with a focus on the education sector, encouraging the country to continue its improvement efforts and providing further insight into how to overcome current challenges and deficiencies regarding human rights in education.
On the third UPR Cycle, Cape Verde received 18 recommendations from 17 reviewing countries. Those included multiple encouragements to ratify the Convention Against Discrimination in Education, the recommendation to education to former detainees or inmates, to extend free education to secondary school levels, to ensure access to education and improve (adult) literacy rates in rural areas (especially for women), to reduce gender inequality in education, and to continue enhancing and resourcing the Education Strategic Plan 2017–2021 to provide quality education for all and securing education access to vulnerable collectives.[i]
Regarding Human Development, the 2019 Cape Verde’s Index is 0.665, above the average for countries in the medium human development group and above the Sub-Saharan Africa average.[ii] However, regarding ensuring the right to education, against an income-adjusted benchmark, Cape Verde scored 82%, with sub-scores indicating significantly lower performance in secondary education provision than in primary education provision, all of which suggests that there still is much room for improvement.[iii] The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change shocks and the Russo-Ukrainian war effects on the global economy have exacerbated the reported preexisting inequalities by increasing poverty and unemployment in the country.[iv] Moreover, Cape Verde is considered a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), which faces specific challenges due to its remoteness, small size and susceptibility to climate and economic shocks.[v]
[v] Ferreira, E. S., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2021). Challenges of a small insular developing state: Cape Verde. Revista de Estudios e Investigación en Psicología y Educación, (1), 125-134.
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