The Lisbon City Council opened this Monday the refurbished facilities of the Teixeira de Pascoais Basic School and Benfica Kindergarten No. 1, with the Municipal Executive’s President saying that education “is the top priority.”
“The priority of the city council in terms of education is the highest priority, because without education we cannot change the country,” said Lisbon Municipal Executive Chairman Carlos Moedas (PSD) after visiting the new premises of the Teixeira Basic School. de Pasqua in the parish of Alvalade.
After the unveiling of the plaque, Carlos Moedas gave a short speech on the importance of continuing to invest in education, stating that the situation that happened at Teixeira de Pashuais Primary School “cannot be repeated”, referring to the delay in the general improvement of work and the arrangement of external spaces, because it was “five years during which nothing was decided, five years during which the parents despaired, five years during which the work did not move forward.”
Director of the Agrupamento de Escolas de Alvalade, Dulce Chagas, also said that the school’s opening was “a welcome moment” after a very difficult process, but that “the wait was worth it” given the school is now operating in “conditions suitable for the 21st century”.
Accompanied by Educational Advisors Diogo Moura (CDS-PP) and Municipal Works Advisors Filipa Roseta (PSD), the Mayor of Lisbon walked down the wide corridor of Teixeira de Pashuais Primary School, entered the classrooms and started talking. with children he asked “is the new school good,” receiving a “yes” in unison.
Identified at the entrance with different animal names, such as “Shark Wasps” and “Like Foxes”, 12 classes of 1 cycle, 244 students in total, in addition to the usual teaching materials, from the writing board with chalk to the tables, they are full of natural light, through completely glazed part, with windows that give access to open space.
After works managed by the municipal company SRU – Sociedade de Reabilitação Urbana, with an investment of 4.3 million euros, Teixeira de Pascoais main school is equipped with a library, an outdoor reading area and a space for plastic and computer expression. , thus creating a flexible and versatile scope that allows stand-alone use of the Family Support Component (CAF).
The new facilities also include a gym, two outdoor playing fields, a pedagogical garden and children’s equipment area, a kitchen with a local cooking system, and a cafeteria where the mayor of Lisbon dined this year. Monday, fair with children.
“It’s nice to be here in this school, a situation that has really been brought to a halt for years, and that the parents here have had a very big fight,” emphasized Carlos Moedas, highlighting the current conditions of this educational institution after the “extraordinary work” of restoring the facilities that were designed by Rui Jervis Atugia, the architect who built the headquarters of Calouste Gulbenkian.
Although the work came from a former municipal executive chaired by the socialist Fernando Medina, the current mayor of Lisbon expressed his enthusiasm for the inauguration: “It is a great joy to be here to show that situations can be resolved, maybe there is a school that is unique and a school that really connects the past with the present.”
On Monday morning, Carlos Moedas also opened Kindergarten No. 1 in Benfica, where work was carried out to improve four classrooms with a capacity of 100 children, as well as ancillary rooms, a multifunctional space for animation and support activities for children. Family (AAAF) and expansion of the kitchen with local cuisine for the amount of 2.3 million euros.
Asked about future investment in educational institutions, the mayor of Lisbon said that “many projects are currently under way,” including the requalification of run-down schools and the removal of asbestos from 13 schools, which “already came from the previous executive, but this hasn’t been done.” made”. “.
“We have a lot of things that have been stopped and that need to start, need to be done. It is difficult to do in the municipalities, so I want to be able to continue to do in the coming years, not only with the project, but also with the implementation,” he said.
In this context, the mayor of Lisbon defended a “full” delegation of educational powers to the municipalities and accused the state of not handing over the necessary resources with a “€15 million shortfall”.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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