“I won’t forget the six months [a viver] in the van”: teachers return to the streets with streets in Lisbon

A few days before the legislative elections, the STOP union imitated the parties and made itself heard: “We haven’t talked about education as we should” in the electoral campaign

Several hundred education professionals participated in the rally called by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP) for this afternoon, in Lisbon, to “campaign for public schools”.

A few days before the legislative elections, STOP imitated the political parties and organized a rally – a frequent action in electoral campaigns – to say that “education has not been talked about as it should be”, summarized André Pestana, teacher and coordinator of the union.

“Public schools have a role that no one else can have in society, which is to guarantee an excellent education for all students, regardless of whether they are children of rich or poor people, and private schools do not guarantee this”, he highlighted, in statements to journalists.

Even “under the threat of storms”, education professionals from all over the country equipped themselves with drums, bass drums, whistles and horns to accompany the slogans shouted into the megaphone.

“We don’t stop, we don’t stop”, they chanted, demanding, on posters, “effective commitments” from the parties.

“The elections come now, we want solutions” and “We will only vote for those who value us” were other guarantees from the protesters, many of whom were using the STOP brand on t-shirts, earrings, socks and other accessories.

There were even those who took advantage of the umbrella to hang their various demands.

“The united school will never be defeated”, they assured, following behind a large banner for the “valorization of public schools”, headed by a black sheep decorated with photos of the leaders of PS, PSD and Chega, warning that “the herd remains blind” .

At the protest, which was attended by party leaders, namely from BE, the message to the new Government, “more to the left or more to the right”, was clear.

“If we don’t seriously invest in public schools, this fight won’t stop”, warns Pestana.

Speaking to Lusa, the leader acknowledged that the demand for career time – which both PS and PSD had already committed to doing – “was important, but it was not the only one”.

A “fair assessment and progression without quotas” for teaching and non-teaching staff, the appreciation of operational assistants and “more democratic” school management are other demands of a sector that has been on the streets for more than a year.

Regarding party programs, they know, “above all”, which ones to exclude, highlights Pestana, referring to those who defend that a return to association contracts and that the 2nd cycle be abolished, “a clearly economistic measure that has no criteria pedagogical”.

Above all, they complain “that public school resources should not be allowed to go to, for example, private schools”, as some parties defend, when proposing association contracts or tuition vouchers.

Pestana also criticized “so much money” spent on digital textbooks, countering that this investment should be made in schools’ human resources.

With a drum on her chest, Ana Rita Baptista, a teacher in the Algarve and STOP union leader, explained that the rally intended to “draw the attention of society”.

Having analyzed the party programs, “there is none that truly defends public schools”, he says, defending, “first and foremost, investment, which is something they [os políticos] they don’t”, just as “they don’t listen to education professionals”.

Tânia Silva, union delegate and teacher in Lisbon, anticipates that, in the political scenario expected after March 10, “a lot of negotiation with all sectors of society” will be necessary, including education professionals.

“We continue to fight and we will continue, what we want is the well-being of our students. It is the future of our society that is at stake, never forget that. People who don’t know how to think won’t be good adults,” she points out.