Education minister Nuno Crato questioned the quality of training at the Higher Schools of Education (ESE), in a 12-minute television interview. And it is in 12 minutes that institutions of this type across the country intend to demonstrate that the statements do not correspond to the truth, in sessions that will take place this Thursday.
The Higher School of Education and Communication of the University of Algarve also joins this protest, with a day of reflection «12 minutes by ESE», starting at 16 pm, at the Paulo Freire Amphitheater of the UAlg Campus da Penha, in Faro.
The initiatives were convened by the Association for Reflection and Intervention in the Educational Policy of Higher Schools of Education (Aripese), following statements by Nuno Crato, who questioned the quality of training of teachers and kindergarten teachers by the different Portuguese ESEs, which are part of of Polytechnic Education.
Now, the target institutions want to demonstrate that the Government member's statements were not supported by concrete data, but rather "in a personal opinion", as well as obtaining a formal apology from Nuno Crato.
Also personal is the opinion of the director of ESEC at UAlg António Guerreiro, when he considers, in statements to the Sul Informação, that the Minister of Education and Science “is shuffling his coffee conversations, with the functions he occupies”.
"These statements are legitimate, but in a coffee conversation, where anyone can express their opinion," he said.
“A member of the Government, when making a statement like this, has to back it up with studies and data. As far as we know, they don't exist. The minister's statements were, therefore, frivolous», he added.
What exists, and will be demonstrated in the sessions that will be repeated, simultaneously, in several Polytechnic Institutes in the country, are «concrete and substantiated data on the training of teachers and educators provided in the ESE, since its creation», which indicate its success.
In the specific case of the Algarve, ESEC invited a former president of the school to make known data on the training of teachers and educators (Pre-school). José Alberto Gonçalves, who has a career closely linked to the Algarve academy, «has a doctorate in this area and is a person who has thought about the subject», according to António Guerreiro.
“We do not consider that the quality of training provided in the ESE is inferior to that of universities. The courses are duly accredited by the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education. In our case, we are even part of the University of Algarve», he illustrated.
“The general position is that there is a formal apology from the minister. Right after the minister's statements, the chief of staff sent us a communication saying that the statements were not addressed to all ESEs, that Nuno Crato intended to say that there were some of these schools with lower quality of training, as well as some universities. But that was a chief of staff and not the minister, on television», he said.
The board of ESEC invited teachers from the Algarve clusters, as well as teachers, students and school staff, to be present at the session. For now, the subject "has aroused more interest than usual", namely in the school facebook page.
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