Publication site : National Directorate of Planning, Ministry of Finance
Date of publication : June 2021
Type of publication : Report
Quality education
The first evaluation of student competencies in intermediate years, specifically in 2nd and 6th grades, carried out in 2019 by Cabo Verdean authorities on performance in Portuguese and Mathematics from the beginning of schooling, revealed that:
Most (61.8%) of students evaluated showed a good reading capacity, and 45 out of every 100 showed a reasonable capacity in the realm of writing. However, only 9.1% of students evaluated managed to meet the objectives of the evaluation – in other words, apply basic knowledge in the scope of language structure, and 21.3% demonstrated considerable difficulty. Some 14.9% of those whose performance was not as expected in the realm of reading demonstrated difficulties, 21.3% were unable to carry out the exercise and 1.9% of students failed to respond.
With regards to the explicit knowledge of the language required by understanding and interpreting the basic rules of the functioning of the language, 6 out of every 10 children demonstrated difficulties – in other words, a majority of the students were unable to answer or had major difficulty answering the questions formulated to them. 21.3% demonstrated difficulty, 37.4% were unable to answer adequately and 4.6% did not respond.
In the realm of numbers and operations, 19.4% of students were able to respond as expected, 46.7% did so with difficulty, 33.4% were unable to answer appropriately and 0.5% did not answer.
In terms of data organization and treatment, some 29.7% of students assessed answered as expected, while 23.8% demonstrated difficulty. Some 45.2% of students assessed were unable to answer appropriately, while 1.3% did not respond. In the area of geometry and measurements, 12.6% of students managed to respond correctly or with minimal errors, and 1 in 3 demonstrated difficulties. Most (53.1%) were unable to answer adequately, while 1.2% did not respond.
The Cabo Verdean government is aligned with the global understanding that the early childhood period is essential for the integral development of children throughout their lives, and, as such, proposed the implementation of a formal universal, quality pre-school education system within the framework of the 2017-2021 Strategic Education Plan, which promotes access for all 4- and 5-year-old children to this level of learning.
In the 2019/2020 school year, a coverage rate of 81.6% was achieved, representing a slight increase of 0.6 percentage points over the 2016/2017 school year, with no difference seen between males and females. Coverage is high because 4 out of every 5 children ages 4 and 5 attend this level of schooling, and there is balance in terms of access between boys and girls.
Cabo Verdean authorities have prioritized the approval of a regulatory framework that promotes and regulates this sub-system and improves the quality of the education provided to 4- and 5-year-old children, preparing them to enter mandatory Elementary-level schooling.
In mandatory elementary schooling, Cabo Verdean authorities intend to ensure free, equitable and quality access up to the 8th grade through the Strategic Education Plan.
The first eight years of elementary school were made mandatory and free of charge beginning in the 2017/2018 school year, with a particular highlight being the implementation of a number of strategic measures such as free and equitable access, the requalification and improvement of educational infrastructures, improvements in quality, the inclusion of children and youth with special educational needs, the promotion of learning geared towards active study and life, and the reinforcement of institutional and organizational capacity.
In 2021/2020, the net rate of schooling reached 92.4%
In 2021/2020, the net rate of schooling reached 92.4%, a rate 6.4 percentage points higher than the level seen in the 2016/2017 school year.
In Cabo Verde, the vast majority of the population 15 years of age and over knows how to read and write. The literacy rate reached 88.5% in 2019, some 0.9 percentage points higher than in 2016. The literacy rate is higher among men (93.1%) than among women (83.9%), which reveals inequality in terms of access.
However, nearly all young people aged 15-24 (98.8%) know how to read and write, with there being practically no difference between genders. Young people’s level of literacy is the result of the national effort to ensure access to and participation in the educational process from pre-school all the way to higher learning and including elementary education for adults and the reduction in asymmetries in access to education.
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