Lisbon City Council supports the purchase of calculators for 10th grade students

This year, the Lisbon City Council will begin to support the purchase of graphing calculators for 10th grade students in the public education network, investing 545,500 euros, the municipality announced this Monday.

“After purchasing the calculators, guardians can be reimbursed an amount of €100 per student,” the Lisbon City Council (CML) said, explaining that proof of purchase must be presented.

The decision to support the purchase of graphing calculators for 10th grade students was made in July 2023 following a proposal by the Bloco de Esquerda (BE), which was unanimously approved by the municipal executive chaired by Carlos Moedas (PSD), who governs without an absolute majority.

This measure applies to all 10th year students in the public education network, regardless of School Social Activities (ASE) level, “according to the Ministry of Education’s list of computing machines that can be used in national final examinations.” Physics and Chemistry A, Mathematics A, Mathematics B and Mathematics Applied to Social Sciences.”

In a statement published this Monday, the CML marks the beginning of this support for the first time, stating that in this context the municipality “provides a total of 545,500 euros intended to support approximately 5,455 students.”

Assistance with the purchase of graphing calculators is “one of the support measures for guardians” implemented in the current school year (2023/2024), the CML emphasized, adding that in total “the school social assistance budget amounts to more than 1.4 million euros.” Action, an amount that represents the largest municipality funding in this area.”

Expressing “awareness of the difficult socio-economic context that the country is going through and which creates great difficulties for many families,” CML President Carlos Moedas said the municipality “has done everything” to strengthen the support of the Lisbon population. in the most sensitive areas.

“This path must be maintained and we strive every day to contribute to the creation of a local social state capable of providing concrete answers to the needs of our citizens,” Carlos Moedas was quoted as saying in the statement.

Among the measures in place for the 2023-2024 school year are additional support for students with special health needs and a 50% reduction in school meal fees at public schools, with “students now paying 73 cents for lunch, while remaining free.” for ASE Levels A and B.

Currently, the 17-member executive body of the Lisbon Chamber includes seven elected members of the Novos Tempos coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Alliance), who are the only ones with assigned responsibilities – three from PS, two from PCP, three from CPL (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from Livre and one from BE.