Education and Culture in Madagascar - Essay Example

The population of Madagascar in 2012 was 22,293,914 (“Madagascar-Population”). Food in Madagascar comprises rice as an essential element. The national dish of Madagascar is Ramazava which is made with mixed greens and beef sautéed with onion, tomato, and ginger. Although Malagasy food is reasonably spicy for the most part, Piri-Piri is an extremely spicy pepper paste commonly used in Malagasy food (“Madagascar: Food”).

Ancestors in the Madagascar society remained united and were against segregation. Forming a wonderful amalgamation of language, religion, and tradition, these ancestors set the pattern of modern culture in Madagascar. The contemporary society of Madagascar is a fine blend of modernism and traditionalism. Malagasy is the main language spoken in Madagascar and the origin of this language is linked with Maanyan which is the language of South Eastern Borneo (“Society and Culture”).

Cargo boats are the main transport means on the northeast coast of Madagascar. They are not very safe means of transport particularly when they are overloaded. Boat travel is unsafe on the east coast, especially during the rainy season. International Driving Permit (IDP) is required to drive a car or motorcycle in Madagascar. MadaBus is a long-distance bus company that operates on Tamatave and Toliar routes (“Getting around”).

Formal education appeared in Madagascar in the modern sense for the first time in 1820 when a school was established in Antananarivo by the missionary David Jones from the London Missionary Society (“Education in Madagascar”). Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world despite its cultural and biological richness mainly because of economic colonialism, kleptocratic rule, lack of infrastructure, and lack of adequate educational system (“Why is Madagascar”).

The average Malagasy’s income is almost $1US per day and up to 70 percent of the population suffers from malnutrition (“Why is Madagascar”).