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Bringing Children to Cape Verde

Last activity 30 December 2020 by IvanildoaBorges

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CVAngelo

Although Cape Verde's population is quite young - 1/2 are 22 and younger and 1/3 are under 16 - being a kid in Cape Verde can be challenging for foreign kids. There are several reasons:

1. Local children are not as mature as children from Europe and the USA because they are not as exposed to the wide variety of experiences that foreigners are exposed to.
2. The education system in Cape Verde is not as progressive as in 1st world countries. The child may be quickly bored or not adequately challenged.
3. There are few options for family entertainment in Cape Verde. Again, children can become quickly bored or disillusioned after a few months.

I'm not judging or saying that these are good or bad things. Just stating what the situation is here. It's up to each parent whether they will leave their kids back home in the care of relatives and visit periodically. Or whether to bring the kids with you to reside in Cape Verde. Clearly it depends on the age of the kids.

A Citizen of the World

Good day CVAngelo!


We are a couple from Russia with two children, who intend to relocate to Cape Verde, Mindelo in next 4 years. On moment of relocation our children will be 12 and 10 y.o. We are not typical city family and Cape Verdean style of life is good for us. We are only worried about shcool education. I realize that it is not so high standart and modern as in 1st world countries. Few questions:

- Is Cape Verdean level of education enough to allow enter and study in any EU university (most probably Portugese) in the future?

- Is it any restriction exists for foreigner's children to get school education? In other words, can our chidren go to local school until we obtain residence permit or become citizens?

- Is it any private school for expats or branch of shcool located in Mindelo?

I appreciate your help in CV forum. Thanks in advance.

Best regards

A Citizen of the World

CVAngelo

Hi there,

Here are the answers to your questions:

Is Cape Verdean level of education enough to allow enter and study in any EU university (most probably Portugese) in the future? The standard of secondary education is not high compared to most developed countries. The chance of getting into universities is the EU good for some of the lower ranked universities in Portugal for the students who get good grades. The biggest factor is the student themselves. If the student is bright, self-motivated and applies him or herself, they can get grades that will give them a much better chances to get into higher ranked universities in the EU. Such students are not routinely produced in CV. Part of the problem is that the public schools have no resources to assist students, such as chemistry, biology, physics and computer labs. So students here are begin with a big disadvantage compared to students in more developed countries in these science subjects. But with languages and the arts, they have a better chance.

Is it any restriction exists for foreigner's children to get school education? In other words, can our chidren go to local school until we obtain residence permit or become citizens? There are no restrictions that apply to foreign sudents to attend secondary schools in Cape Verde. They only need passport identification and their school records from those they attended in Russia (to show what grade level they have attained). Also, from a practical standpoint, they will need to learn and speak Portuguese because classroom instruction in all the local schools is in Portuguese.

Is it any private school for expats or branch of shcool located in Mindelo? Yes. There is one private school in Mindelo called Escola Portuguesa. It only goes up to the 6th grade (students up to 12 years old). After the 6th grade, there are only public schools in Mindelo. There are more private schools in Praia including Miraflores, Escola Portuguesa and the French Cultural Center. Miraflores and Escola Portuguesa in Praia have classes up to 12th grade. The French Cultural Center only goes up to 6th grade. The private schools in CV all give classroom instructions in Portuguese. There are no private schools in CV with instruction in languages other than Portuguese.

Hope this helps.

Angelo

A Citizen of the World wrote:

Good day CVAngelo!


We are a couple from Russia with two children, who intend to relocate to Cape Verde, Mindelo in next 4 years. On moment of relocation our children will be 12 and 10 y.o. We are not typical city family and Cape Verdean style of life is good for us. We are only worried about shcool education. I realize that it is not so high standart and modern as in 1st world countries. Few questions:

- Is Cape Verdean level of education enough to allow enter and study in any EU university (most probably Portugese) in the future?

- Is it any restriction exists for foreigner's children to get school education? In other words, can our chidren go to local school until we obtain residence permit or become citizens?

- Is it any private school for expats or branch of shcool located in Mindelo?

I appreciate your help in CV forum. Thanks in advance.

Best regards

A Citizen of the World

A Citizen of the World

Many thanks!

IvanildoaBorges

If you decide to move to Cape Verde, I suggest that you put your children in French or Portuguese schools. I say this because Cape Verdean education is very weak in relation to Western Europe.