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Study and find schools in Cape Verde

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Cities to study in Cape Verde

Praia

Cape Verde, officially known as the Republic of Cape Verde, is a small island country in the Central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of roughly 1500 square miles of total land area.  Spanning an archipelago of 10 islands, the country is situated just 200 miles off the coast of West Africa.  Cape Verde was once a colony of Portugal, but since July of 1975 it has been a sovereign nation with a democratic government, free elections and a market based economy.
 
As of the latest available census data, Cape Verde has a population of approximately 500,000, a quarter of who live in the country’s capital and largest city, Praia.  Most of the population self-identify as Creoles, a combination of black African and European descent.  In terms of ancestry, records show that 57 percent of the population is African and 43 percent is European.  Portuguese is the official language of Cape Verde, and is used in all matters of the government, including being the language of instruction in schools.  However, the Cape Verdean Creole language, a mixture of elements from the Portuguese and local African language, is used colloquially and is spoken by nearly all Cape Verde residents.  Over 95 percent of the population is Christian, particularly Roman Catholics, who represent for 85% of the Cape Verde people.
 
The cultural patterns in Cape Verde are much like one would find in rural Portugal and Africa.  Church activities and football, the national sport in Cape Verde, provide opportunities for social interaction and entertainment.  Each day, the citizens of Cape Verde maintain the age-old tradition of strolling down the praca (town square) to mingle with each other and talk, a tradition that was first established back in the colonial era.  Only a few of the towns in Cape Verde have electricity, where Cape Verdeans can watch television on one of two channels received in the country, one Cape Verdean and the other Portuguese.  The local cuisine is anchored by staple foods such as corn and rice, as well as tropical fruits like bananas and papayas, which are available year round on the islands.
 
Education in Cape Verde
 
Education in Cape Verde is administered by the national government and is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14, and free for students aged 6 to 12.  Primary school is the only mandatory level of education in the country, and while a few secondary schools do exist, they are not very prevalent nor are they well attended.  Higher education in the country is mainly limited to a handful of vocational schools, where students and adults can receive instruction and training in career fields important to the Cape Verde economy.
 
Primary school instruction in Cape Verde features a curriculum of mathematics, basic science, language, reading, social studies, art and sport, but although primary-age students have full access to these opportunities, there are some prohibitive factors that tend to impede their education.  For example, most students and about half of the teachers in Cape Verde speak Creole at home and tend to have poor command of the Portuguese language—the official language of instruction in schools.  Textbooks, school materials and lunches are also limited due to cost concerns, and many children must repeat grades several times before they score well enough to advance to the next level.