The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) does not agree with the closure of schools, starting this Friday, and asks the Government to back down “as soon as possible”. Communists understand that the interruption of teaching activities has harmful consequences on the students' learning process and say that the support announced for families is "insufficient".
“PCP has argued that schools should not close, taking into account the losses that will be caused to students, namely in their learning. For the PCP, there is no alternative to classroom teaching, the only one that guarantees the necessary interaction between the student and the teacher in the classroom, a decisive element in ensuring the quality of teaching ”, reads a communiqué from the party sent to the newsrooms.
At issue is the Government decision to close schools at all levels of education within the next 15 days, to curb the contagion of Covid-19, due to the increased prevalence of the British strain, which is more contagious, and which has skyrocketed from 8% to 20% of new cases. The 15 days of interruption will be compensated for in another vacation period and there will be support measures for families similar to those that prevailed during the 2020 confinement.
The party led by Jerónimo de Sousa considers that the closure of schools for 15 days raises "problems in terms of socialization and mental health that the Government cannot ignore", which has been the subject of successive interventions by the National School of Public Health , and requires, in addition to limiting itself to the time strictly necessary, credible responses in terms of support for parents and children and young people ”.
“The loss of a third of the salary of parents who have no alternative but to stay at home to accompany their children, the problems associated with the regulation of teleworking and the lack of response for parents with children over 12 years old deepen social inequalities in a country that is already profoundly unequal, ”says the PCP, stressing that support for families proved to be“ insufficient ”.
The PCP adds that, “after an academic year marked by significant losses, widely recognized by the educational community”, what is required is that “the interruption now decided to be lifted as soon as possible”.
