The diplomas voted this Friday in the Assembly of the Republic, which offered free teaching of the Portuguese language abroad, were rejected: the Socialist Party voted against and the PSD, among others, abstained.
Thus, the only one of the nine diplomas in teaching Portuguese abroad as a result, a draft resolution was approved at the initiative of the Socialist Party (PS).
This project recommends the government to strengthen the Teaching of Portuguese Abroad (EPE) in its various aspects and to step up the use of digital technologies to make it more attractive, interactive and adapted to the profile of learners, with votes in favor of socialist benches. and the Social Democrat and Liberal Initiative, Left Bloc (BE), Party of Animals and Nature (PAN) and Livre.
As for the bill initiated by the PAN, which determined the end of the collection of bribes or registration fees for young Portuguese and descendants of Portuguese who studied in Portuguese abroad, one of which deserved the most attention in the debate held this Wednesday, it was failed due to votes of the Socialist Party against and abstentions of the SDP and the Liberal Initiative.
As for the certificate of gratuitousness of this, at the initiative of the Communist Party of Portugal (PKP) it received the positive votes of Chega, PCP, Bloco de Esquerda, PAN and Livre, but in the end it was also rejected. against the PS and with the abstentions of the SDP and the Liberal Initiative.
Similarly, the bill of the Chega initiative to promote quality and free teaching of Portuguese abroad for children and youth of Portuguese and Portuguese origin was counted by votes in favor of this party, as well as Bloco de Esquerda and from PAN, but voted against from the bench of the Socialist Party. The Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Liberal Initiative, the PKP and Livre abstained.
On Wednesday, PS already refused to stop taking bribes in EPE. “It is wrong to attribute the reduction of EPE students to bribes,” said the Socialist MP Paulo Pisco at the plenary session of the Assembly of the Republic, adding that the problems are not related to guardianship (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The socialist spoke during the evaluation of the petition “Portuguese for all – for the right of our children and youth to a quality and free EPE” and nine parliamentary initiatives sponsored by seven parties.
In response, Liberal Initiative MP Rodrigo Saraiva said that this position of the party with a parliamentary majority ignores concerns that the Council of Portuguese Communities, the government’s advisory body on emigration, has recently brought to the attention of various parliamentary groups.
MP Malo de Abreu complained from the PSD. “disinvestment” in education Portuguese abroad, which is becoming more and more popular as a foreign language rather than as a mother tongue. And about the reduction in the number of students, the Social Democrat defended: “It is urgent to turn off the path.”
For Paula Santos (PCP), “all is not well in the EPE” as she believes MP Paulo Pisco said when warning of student cuts as well as teachers. MP Rui Tavares (Livre), considering the unanimity of the MPs regarding the importance of EPE and the Portuguese language abroad, asked the question: “After all, what is missing if there is a consensus?”. And he advocated investment in Portuguese “not only as an effective link, but as an investment.”
Less than 10,000 students per year
The petition was officially presented to the Assembly of the Republic two years ago and has collected more than 4,500 signatures, collected “thanks to the collective efforts of compatriots living in Portugal and abroad”, in a total of 50 countries involved, according to the Regional Council. Portuguese Communities in Europe (CRCPE), promoter of this initiative.
The applicants argue for differentiation of educational policy depending on the recipient “through an adequate institutional response with the return of responsibility for HRE to the Ministry of Education.” CRCPE recalls that the introduction of tuition fees at EPE in 2014 “had a devastating effect: in a single academic year, the number of students fell by almost 10,000 people.”
It was after this petition that graduation projects were presented, which were voted on this Friday.
