The Minister of Education returned today to defend the importance of keeping schools open with classroom teaching, but acknowledged that this is a decision by the health authorities.
At a time when there is an increase in restrictive measures to combat Covid-19 in Europe and when, in Portugal, ways to reduce the increase in new cases of infection are being considered, the Minister of Education once again underlined the importance face-to-face teaching.
"The ones who have to say what has to remain open in society and what has to close to stop a putative increase of this epidemiological outbreak are the health authorities", stressed Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, when asked by journalists about the hypothesis of closing all educational establishments similarly to what happened in the last academic year.
However, for Tiago Brandão Rodrigues it is important to maintain classroom teaching: «I, as Minister of Education, defend that we have to continue working so that our schools never close and remain open».
«We will do everything so that teaching continues to be in person», he said on the sidelines of a visit to the studios where the recordings of “Study at home”, the old teleschool, which started today with a new edition, after five weeks with “ classes” at RTPMemória to consolidate and recover materials from the past school year.
Tiago Brandão Rodrigues recalled last year's experience that showed that «teaching and learning does not happen so well when [students] are away from schools» and therefore «presential teaching must continue to be a priority».
The minister considered that the new rules for the functioning of schools are being complied with, underlining the commitment of the educational community that "has been very responsible" in complying with the rules and guidelines issued by the ministry and the General Directorate of Health.
«If our educational system with 1,4 million students were a region, according to the figures we have from the DGS, it would be the region with the fewest cases per 14 inhabitants in the last XNUMX days, even below the Azores and Madeira, which we know to have few cases'.
“It is important to keep our children and young people in schools” to learn but also to “take care of their mental and physical health”.
Tiago Brandão Rodrigues again underlined that “nothing has replaced the role of the classroom teacher” and therefore the “great objective” of the ministry that oversees is to keep schools open with classroom teaching.
Meanwhile, recordings of new pedagogical blocks of “Study at home” have started, which helps students and teachers, being a «complement to the school» and «a support for students who are at home».
In this new edition there are new subjects and novelties, such as the 1st and 2nd years of schooling now having separate blocks.
Three new disciplines appear: “Orientation of Autonomous Work”, “Citizenship and Development” and “Technological Education”.
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