In Cabo Verde, the government is committed to achieving inclusion through the implementation of special measures that enable access, participation and progress for children and young people with special educational needs throughout their school career. Children with disabilities learn in mainstream education schools.
Although Cabo Verde has been recognized for its proficiency in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, with notable progress in ensuring high school enrollment rates, persistent gaps remain in eliminating educational inequities, particularly for lower-income households.
While there are no recent disability-disaggregated data for Cabo Verde, sources indicate that in 2010, an estimated 6% of the population was living with some form of disability, with 60% of these being women.
The data also suggests that people with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty, and a higher proportion of women and girls (54%) with disabilities are illiterate. In addition to being out of date, these figures are also likely to be an underestimate as WHO considers that, on average, 16% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability.
Civil society’s long-term approach for change in education
In 2016, the national education coalition—Rede Nacional de Campanha da Educação para Todos, Cabo Verde (RNCEPT-CV)—submitted a proposal to the government advocating for the establishment of a legal framework for special education in pre-school, primary and secondary education institutions.
From 2020 to 2024, the coalition worked with the municipalities of Santiago and Saint Vincent to advocate for funding for inclusive education.
In 2021, a new Minister of Education was appointed, and RNCEPT-CV resumed its advocacy efforts towards the adoption of a national law led by the coalition’s President, Dr. Marciano Monteiro, a visually impaired person who heads the Union of the Blind of Cabo Verde.
Finally, in February 2024, Law no. 9/2024 was promulgated establishing the principles and rules that guarantee the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs. The law included measures to be implemented in the educational process and specific resources to be mobilized to meet the educational needs of each student.
This law was a major milestone as it guarantees fee-free education for learners with disabilities from basic education through tertiary and widens the use of resource rooms to help accommodate children with special education needs to all municipalities instead of a few in the city councils.