The third school term will start on April 14th, as planned, but, for now, without in-person classes, the prime minister has just announced. From the 1st to the 9th grade, in primary education, the entire third period will be “at a distance and reinforced with the support of educational television content”. In Secondary, the idea is that the 11th and 12th grade classrooms come back when possible.
At a press conference, after the Council of Ministers, António Costa explained that these measures were taken, taking into account the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Despite the pace of deceleration, we have not yet reached the day when we can start lifting measures, which we will only be able to do when the risk of virus transmission is manageable," he said.
As for television content, dedicated to basic education, from 20 April onwards, on the RTP Memória channel, available on DTT. It will be a kind of back to school that will not replace the role of the teacher. «The television offer is complementary», framed António Costa.
Given the situation, the prime minister said that the "evaluation of basic education will be carried out in each school by teachers who know each student best, without scouting tests and without exams for the 9th grade".
That said, guaranteed the prime minister, will be "maintained, until the end of the school year, the special support regime for children under 12."
With regard to Secondary, the measures are not yet fully decided. It is true that the in-person classes will not start right away, but the idea is that they will come back as soon as possible.
«With less opportunity for future recovery and being decisive years for access to higher education and return to working life, it is particularly important that we can still resume classroom activities. All the more so as the diversity of disciplines is such that we cannot resort to television broadcasting. However, today it is not possible to make that decision," said the prime minister.
Costa guaranteed that the Government will continue to follow "the evolution of the situation", with a view to deciding when - "and if" - the 11th and 12th grade classes can start in "safety".
It is certain that the calendar of national exams has already been postponed. Thus, the first phase will be from the 6th to the 23rd of July and the second from the 1st to the 7th of September.
According to António Costa, the Government's idea is that classes for the 11th and 12th (years in which there are national exams) restart in May. Only, he warned, this is just a prediction.
The 11th and 12th grades, according to this plan, will only have “in-person classes in the 22 disciplines” subject to examination. If this goes ahead, everyone – students, teachers and staff – will have to wear a “protective mask”.
As for the exams, they will be able to take place in spaces outside the school, such as pavilions. In addition, students will have the option of choosing groups of questions.
Finally, with regard to pre-school education, it can only come back when the “distancing rules” are changed, as these are difficult to comply with with babies. RTP2 will have content dedicated exclusively to preschool.
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