Carlos César reiterated on Flores on Monday evening the Government’s firm intention to further promote the development of human resources in the Region as a factor of present and future development.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Sports Hall of the Maurício de Freitas School, the President of the Government said that “this year when we celebrate the centennial of the establishment of the Republic and when we reiterate the Republican goal for universal education and free public school, we continue to do everything we can to promote the opportunities for innovation and success by valuing people through the education system in a Region that is not rich, in a small and sparsely populated land like ours.”

The President pointed out that has been done in the field of education, but “achieving the goal of education in Preschool, Elementary, Basic and Secondary Education, extend certified qualification opportunities for youngsters and adults, improve the quality of student learning and holding responsible all those who participate in the educational sector, especially families, parents and guardians are the most emerging challenges that should motivate our actions and our reform efforts.”

As he stressed, there are many ongoing investments in the school network such as, for example, the new Água de Pau school, in the amount of about 15 million Euros; the new Piedade school, with a cost of about 4 million Euros; the expansion of the Angra do Heroísmo basic education school,  with an estimated budget of 2.7 million Euros; the new premises of Gaspar Frutuoso school in Ribeira Grande, in the amount of 14.5 million Euros, the redevelopment of the Rabo de Peixe school, an investment of nearly 3 million Euros, the redevelopment of the south building of Domingos Rebelo school, with a budget of 6 million Euros; the construction of the new Horta basic education school, in the amount of 9 million Euros; and the completion of the Ponta Garça and Ferreira Drumond schools, representing a total investment of 40 million Euros. 

In addition these investments in infrastructures, the President of the Government stated that “a good school is not only made of good buildings, mentioning other investments in information and communication technologies in some regional schools, contributing to a significant reduction in the student/computer number, which is currently of seven per one, the progressive generalisation of interactive whiteboards, the creation of various audiovisual and multimedia centres and the improvement in the overall infrastructure and communication network.

The quality of public schools is also related to sports activities and, in this context, Carlos César emphasised that the progress registered in the coverage rate of sports halls in Azorean schools, which has “privileged Physical Education and school sport and, simultaneously, provided local clubs with sports facilities, thus enhancing the profitability of these infrastructures.”

The sports hall of the Maurício Freitas Basic Education School, which represented a 3 million Euro investment, includes support structures and complementary areas to physical education activities, with a balcony and the respective support areas, designed for several sports such as volleyball, badminton, basketball and tennis.