The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), José Luís Carneiro, declared on Sunday that the Government “failed in another political objective” after it was reported that the proposal from the Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, to increase the number of preschool places was rejected.
“The Government fails in another political objective set for the start of the school year. The Minister of Education promised to have six to seven thousand places for preschool children. He started building the house from the roof down and did not consult the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP),” José Luís Carneiro told journalists on the sidelines of the mayoral candidate’s presentation in Maia.
The issue came to light in a report published on Sunday indicating that municipalities blocked the Government’s plan to open thousands of preschool places. Municipalities such as Sintra and Odivelas considered the proposal “unfeasible.”
However, a source from the ANMP indicated that the association was not consulted by the Government on “this alleged negotiation to contract preschool places with 30 municipalities, which contradicts the principle of good relations between the Government and the ANMP.”
“Preschool education is fundamental for municipalities in general, not just for 30, so the Government cannot exclude the ANMP,” they emphasized.
The plan aimed to cover 30 municipalities; however, so far only Albufeira, Lagoa, Lagos, Portimão, Faro, Tavira, Loulé, Lisbon, and Oeiras have agreed.
José Luís Carneiro criticized the Minister of Education for “building the house from the roof down” and “failing” in the promise to create “six or seven thousand places.”
“This indicates another failure of the Government’s commitments, showing a significant incapacity due to a lack of democratic humility to talk first and act later,” he stressed, lamenting that “this Government chooses the opposite method.”
42.5 million euros to expand the offer of places
In early September, the Council of Ministers approved an expenditure of 42.5 million euros to make agreements with municipalities and private entities to expand the offer of preschool places in the coming school years.
This measure aimed to cover 30 municipalities where thousands of places are lacking, most of them in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
The 42.5 million euros expenditure approved on Thursday to expand preschool places will cover 30 municipalities where thousands of places are lacking, mainly in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
According to data from the Enrollment Portal, shared by the Ministry of Education, the issue is most significant in the municipality of Sintra, where 67 classrooms are lacking, followed by Seixal, which needs 27, and Odivelas, with 20.
In the list of 19 municipalities with the greatest need, only three are not located in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area: Portimão, Albufeira, and Faro. Among the 19, there are 14 municipalities where at least 10 preschool classrooms are lacking.
