This Thursday, the Minister of Education guaranteed that psychologists working in schools will have their contracts renewed and many of them will be integrated into the staff, emphasizing the importance of these specialists in monitoring students.
Asked about the warning from the Order of Portuguese Psychologists (OPP), which warned that the continuity of about 500 psychologists in public schools was at risk, the minister assured this Thursday that the agency is working to resolve the problem.
“Our intention is that the contracts are renewed and there is a significant percentage of those who qualify to become school employees,” said Fernando Alexandre, stressing that “obviously this is an area that needs to be strengthened.”
While admitting he did not know by heart how many psychologists would be recruited and integrated, the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) said the department was “conducting this study, but obviously the goal is to improve conditions” for these professionals.
“Psychologists are necessary and increasingly important in our schools,” said Fernando Alexandre, guaranteeing that the guardianship is “very sensitive to mental health problems and monitors children with difficulties” and wants to “have more support in this very important area.” for the operation of schools.”
In an open letter published Wednesday, the OPP asked the government to ensure the continuity of approximately 500 public school psychologists until July in order to prepare for the next school year.
The president also asked that psychologists from the National School Success Program be retained, an emergency measure to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
On the sidelines of the presentation of an international study of financial literacy among 15-year-old students, journalists also asked the minister a question about the shortcomings of the student admission portal.
“Things are not going very well,” he admitted, again explaining that “the previous government decided to change the platform, but the work started late, only in March.”
“We trust that they can quickly overcome these restrictions and we apologize,” he said, acknowledging the inconvenience for families and remembering that the deadline had been extended.
The ministry explained that the registration portal has been experiencing difficulties since Saturday due to the “large number of visits”: registration is taking place for grades 6-9 and 11.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.