The Government of the Azores has made a major effort to improve the teaching and access conditions to Science in the Azores, promoting the qualification of teachers as well as the construction of modern and equipped infrastructures.

This was the idea conveyed by Isabel Rodrigues, Assistant of the Regional Secretary for Education and Training, who spoke at the 1st Congress of the Association of Biologists that takes place on Pico Island until tomorrow.

According to Isabel Rodrigues, scientific equipments were virtually nonexistent at Azorean schools in the beginning of the past decade, which demanded a great financial effort from the socialist government as well as a great political will to change this situation.

“There were virtually no laboratories. However, in order to make or teaching science one must experiment,” stated Isabel Rodrigues, mentioning that the situation is very different today and almost all Azorean schools have properly equipped laboratories.

Regarding the training plan, there has been a continuous effort to update the science teachers in the Azores as the “21st century is the century of science.”

“Countless training courses took place last year, bringing together over 200 teachers,” revealed Isabel Rodrigues, praising the organisation of the 1st Congress of the Association of Biologists in the Azores and the presence of “highly qualified” human resources on Pico for the organisation of this event.

For Isabel Rodrigues, this congress “brings more knowledge, experience, thus enhancing the participants’ capacities so that they may be able to develop more qualified teaching and learning process.”

Nonetheless, the governmental effort to o science goes much further as the Regional Curriculum, which should enter into force in the next school year, estimates an increase of classroom hours dedicated to science, which does not happen in Mainland Portugal.