A question directed to Fernando Alexandre via the Assembleia da República by the IL recalls that in July 2023, the government signed a sectoral agreement with the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) for the rehabilitation and modernization of 451 school facilities.
This agreement classified schools based on the state of deterioration into three categories: very urgent, urgent, and priority.
The party highlighted that the plan intended to select 75 schools for deep requalification interventions, directly involving application presentations and executions. However, from the outset, the process drew “widespread criticism” due to “lack of clarity in classifications” and issues with public information.
Data published by the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR) indicated that applications were approved in order of submission rather than merit and evaluation, which IL argues creates a “perception of arbitrariness” in school selection.
IL considers the situation “particularly serious,” noting that the National Monitoring Commission of the PRR deems the investment in school construction and rehabilitation “concerning.”
They emphasize that although the number of contracted schools could formally meet the PRR goal, the execution pace has been far below expectations, with only five schools completed and more than 40 still without work started or scheduled to start by mid-2025.
The IL notes that the funds allocated for school infrastructure rehabilitation have reached “more than 326 million euros”— from the initial 140 million launched under the PRR, supplemented by the government with 180 million in 2024 and another six million this month. Yet, the available data shows that “the outcome falls far short of expectations.”
The IL’s Parliamentary Group identified that 11 of the 28 schools now scheduled for intervention were already on the list prepared by the ANMP in 2023. There is a need to understand the selection of these 11 schools among all others listed in the agreement with the ANMP, given that some categorized as Very Urgent are not included.
The IL thus questions the Minister of Education about the reason for adopting “the criterion of submission order over intervention urgency” in school selection, as well as why “17 new schools not in the initial list” are scheduled for intervention ahead of others previously identified.
The party also seeks to know what measures the government is taking to ensure that the additional funds allocated in August 2024 and this month do not face the same delays as those mobilized in 2023 and what criterion is being used for their distribution.
