On the International Day of Education, the President of the Government laid the first stone of the renewal works of the Domingos Rebelo Secondary School, a century-old institution that has been responsible for the training of several generations of Azorean youngsters.

With a total investment of nearly six million Euros, the government decided to build a new building to install the psychology and guidance services, new classrooms, a gymnasium, an auditorium, the school library, social spaces for students and teachers as well as the offices for the school board and coordinators.

Simultaneously, the school's south building will be subject to several interventions to repair some classrooms and the roof, including the installation of new window shades and frames.

For Carlos César, "these works are part of the general school restructuring plan we have implemented in all teaching levels across the archipelago. The implementation of this plan is almost complete and involved the direct and exclusive investments from the Government as well as the support to works in the school network that were carried out by local authorities."

The Regional Government has build, improved and adapted various schools over the last decade and a half.

This renewal of the public school network was carried out as a result of the appalling conditions of some schools and the need for their adaptation to the new requirements of the educational system. In this context, the Government had to make a huge investment in the area of education. According to Carlos César, "this is an area where we expect to have a residual investment in the Azores within two years to meet conservation needs."

The Government of the Azores has also invested in other areas of education, particularly in the quality of student learning. For example, the transition rate in the basic education level grew 51% and 64% in the secondary school level. In recent years, the absenteeism rate dropped from 3.6% to 1.5%.

The access of children to preschool education, which is fundamental for building a solid education, was also an achievement of this Regional Government. In fact, the enrolment rate in preschool has grown 57.6% over the last 10 years. Since 2010, 97.5% of the children aged 5 have attended preschool whether in the public network, private schools or cooperative education institutions.

Furthermore, the Government has made a considerable investment in the promotion of vocational training without loss of quality. Consequently, several youngsters have enrolled in vocational training schools, being a very important tool in the improvement of their skills. The number of vocational schools increased from five to sixteen and the number of students enrolled at these schools grew 91.4% between 1996 and last year. Vocational education is now part of the courses offered by public schools, which also contributes to reinforcing the adjustment between the training offer and its standardisation across the Region.

Moreover, the Regional Government has implemented the technology plan for the Digital Schools, achieving a ratio of six students per computer and of four students per computer in the elementary level.

During the past sixteen years, the Government has created incentives to promote the stability of the teaching staff with the allocation of subsidies, preferential interests, priority access to training and a compensation for length of service.

In the same period of time, the on-job training certification covered almost eight hundred teachers and over four hundred preschool, basic education and secondary school teachers attended the Complementary training courses.
Furthermore, the teaching staff has increased 6% over the last four years, particularly in the areas of Artistic Education (14%) and Special Education (43.5%).

The Azores registered a ratio of nine students per teacher and we expect that this fact contributes to the improvement of learning and school results in the near future.

The Government has also solved the situation of some non-teaching staff members in precarious working conditions, but thanks to this effort the Region now registers a ratio of 19 students per non-teaching staff member.

Carlos César considers that "the success of the educational process is not solely dependent on the Government and local authorities; nevertheless, their contribution and investment to reform the educational system is fundamental.
 
Apart from students, parents, teachers, school managers and proximity institutions also play a vital role in the educational system. In this context, we should consolidate the path already followed and accomplish the goals that have yet to be attained by achieving a consensus among all participants."

The President of the Government concluded that "it is important to continue this path so that we may keep what has been done and do what still needs to be done."