“We were caught by surprise, and we are concerned about the future of the students, especially because this is a school that has been operating for about 15 years, offering a differentiated educational option for the municipality,” said José Gonçalves.
In a written statement, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation clarified that the private educational institution was closed because it did not have “any authorization to operate, neither provisional nor definitive, and therefore is not approved by the Ministry.”
The International School of Aljezur “was compulsorily closed” last Friday in a joint action by the Inspectorate-General of Education and Science (IGEC), the Directorate-General for Schools (DGEstE), and the National Republican Guard (GNR), according to the Ministry.
The Ministry emphasizes that the previous conditions that justified the granting of provisional authorizations “do not apply to the facilities where the institution has operated since 2013, retaining only its formal name without legal and administrative validity.”
Since 2022, the school “has refused to comply with administrative closure orders,” and several directives have been issued in this regard, the ministry adds.
The most recent directive, dated January 10, 2024, was signed by the then Secretary of State for Education.
Following the closure action, a notice was posted, and the students’ records were collected and delivered to Agrupamento de Escolas Professora Piedade Matoso in Aljezur.
In total, 85 students from the 7th to the 12th grade are affected.
The Ministry states that students from the 7th to 9th grades will be integrated into classes of the public school group according to their age.
Secondary school students (10th to 12th grades) will have their placement assessed individually, with the ministry’s services monitoring the situation.
The president of the Aljezur Municipal Council, José Gonçalves, expressed surprise at the school’s closure, voicing concerns about the future of the students, the children of residents in the municipality.
The mayor stated that the “distinguished and recognized quality education” offered by the institution is “also an incentive for families choosing to live in these low-density areas.”
“This situation is worrying for everyone — for the municipality, which loses an educational offer, and for the students and families, who lose an important structure, having to move to other areas,” he added.
José Gonçalves further highlighted that the school has proved to be “an important offer for the municipality” over the years, noting that public schooling is available only up to the 9th grade, and students from the 10th to the 12th grade must “travel to the neighboring municipality of Lagos, located more than 30 kilometers away.”
The mayor questioned whether “the ministry acted hastily and whether all possibilities were exhausted” to keep the International School operational.
The Ministry of Education assures that it is working to ensure the continuity of the students’ educational journey, “respecting their rights and the legality of the Portuguese educational system.”
Attempts to contact the director of the International School of Aljezur, Silvia Catarino, were unsuccessful.
