Portugal plans to double the number of scholarships granted to Cape Verdeans residing in Cape Verde to 50, and will support graduate-level in addition to undergraduate courses, the president of the Portuguese Development Support Institute, Manuel Correia, announced yesterday.

Manuel Correia, who spoke during a seminar at the Portugal-Cape Verde Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, considered Cape Verde the “best” of the Portuguese Cooperation Agency’s partners, as a result of the effectiveness of the projects carried out there, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.

As a part of the current cycle of the bilateral cooperation program between the two countries, which will conclude next year, Portugal will offer 13 scholarships in Cape Verde this academic year, mainly for undergraduate studies, with the figure expected to jump to 23 next year. In the upcoming cooperation cycle (2008-2011), said Correia, the objective is the begin offering 50 scholarships per year to Cape Verdean students.

In addition to undergraduate studies, support will also be given to those attending master’s and other graduate-level courses in the archipelago, because, “although they are more expensive, they affect many more people.” The Portuguese Development Support Institute (known by the Portuguese acronym IPAD) also intends to increase the number of graduate-level scholarships offered to Cape Verdean students pursuing their studies in Portugal, while at the same time decreasing the number of scholarships offered to Cape Verdean undergraduate students attending university there.

This year, a total of 37 scholarships for master’s programs and eight for doctoral programs were granted, the highest figure ever in graduate studies. A total of 70 undergraduate scholarships were granted, the lowest figure since 1995.

According to Correia, attention must be paid to priority areas of education in accordance with Cape Verde’s development objectives.

As a part of the IPAD’s support for the development of higher learning in Cape Verde, a protocol between Cape Verde and Portugal’s University of Aveiro is in preparation. The accord will allow for the establishment of two new master’s-level courses in Cape Verde, in the areas of engineering-applied mathematics and electronic and telecommunications engineering.