The PSD, Chega and the Liberal Initiative defended this Wednesday the extension of free school textbooks to private and cooperative education, accusing the parties to your left of disrespecting freedom family choice.
The discussion, which took place this Wednesday in a plenary session of Parliament, started from a petition with more than 11,000 signatures that led to the presentation of three bills with the same objective: that all students have access to school textbooks. free.
“The government discriminates students and families for the exercise of their freedom of choice”, began by saying Sónia Ramos, from the PSD, noting that it benefits public school students, while it harms those who opt for private education.
In the presentation of the social democratic initiative, Sónia Ramos defended that “the State must be neutral and impartial”, but, instead, the PS “He claims to be the best educatorand assumes education as an ideological mechanism.
The accusation of ideological prejudice was also heard from the Liberal Initiative parliamentary bench, with Carla Castro affirming that the State should not discriminate against students because of the educational establishment they attend and considered that free textbooks only for high school students public schools isanother negative step against the freedom of choice of families and the quality of education.
On behalf of Chega, Gabriel Mithá Ribeiro said that the left “uses the State as a weapon of war against the autonomy of society”, an argument from which he started to accuse the Government of indoctrination through “an isolated policy of school manuals”. , without directly mentioning, in his speech, the free politics under discussion, which earned him a warning from the President of the Assembly of the Republic.
“Today he talked about everything except free school textbooks,” said Augusto Santos Silva, considering that the fact that the deputy left “ostensibly from the topic of debate” lacks respect for the petitioners.
To the left of the Chamber, the parties were more or less consensual. The PS rejected out of hand the arguments that guaranteeing free textbooks only to public school students discriminates against private students or violates freedom of choice.
“The State is not hindering the free choice of families, nor is it creating restrictions on access to public schools,” said Palmira Maciel, who added that her role is to guarantee the gratuitousness and universality compulsory education through the public sector.
In the same sense, Joana Mortágua, from the Bloco de Esquerda, also intervened, who affirmed that the State “does not have to finance all the companies and businesses in education” and that “if a family understands that their child should not go to public school who receives everyone and must make a contract with the privatesubject to market rules.
Like the blocist deputy, Rui Tavares, from Livre, also stressed that educational establishments in the private and cooperative sectors can choose to offer the books.
For the PCP, Alfredo Maia recalled previous party proposals for free support booklets, which the PS had failed with votes against the Liberal Initiative and the abstentions of Chega and the PSD, referring to the fact that “they are the same ones who now demand freedom ”. manuals for private schools.
The PAN was the only who approached the proponents???????? Inês de Sousa Real stressed that there are also families in need who, for whatever reason, opt for private education, but do not have free textbooks and also considered that the measure may have an “important environmental character”, due to the reuse of books.
At the end of the debate, Sónia Ramos also added that “the PS does not rule in family elections”, which must be respected and supported by the State.
Source: Observadora
