Cape Verde’s Minister of Education, Amadeu Cruz, has hailed the completion of the nation’s most extensive curriculum reform since independence as a landmark moment for the country’s education system.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri Albert Guillaume’s visit to the “13 de Janeiro” Basic Education School in Praia, Cruz described the reform as a “great achievement” and a “remarkable step forward” for education in Cape Verde.
“We have reached the end of the curricular reform.
We have introduced new programs from the first to the twelfth grades of schooling.
It took us eight years to implement the most extensive curricular reform in Cape Verde since independence,” Cruz said.
The sweeping changes include new curriculum content, redesigned teaching materials, a modernized student evaluation system, and a full restructuring of teacher training and career development frameworks.
According to the minister, the reform aligns Cape Verde’s education system more closely with those of countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Portugal, with which the country maintains strong educational ties.
“We are witnessing real progress,” Cruz stated, highlighting a significant rise in student performance.
“The results up until the second quarter showed success rates and positive grades above 85 percent in most schools, a significant reduction in failures, and school dropouts dropping from 6.5% to just 0.7% or 0.8%.”
He also emphasized the final phase of the reform: the full rollout of nationally developed school textbooks.
“We hope to introduce the 11th-grade textbooks by September this year, and by January or February 2026, we will have textbooks ready for the 12th grade,” he announced.
“For the first time in the history of Cape Verde—not just in the last 50 years—we will have our own textbooks for grades one through twelve,” Cruz added, underscoring the historical significance of this development.
The announcement marks a new era in Cape Verde’s pursuit of educational excellence, with officials confident that the reforms will better prepare students for global opportunities while preserving national identity.
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