Plan and Budget approval secures consolidation of ongoing work in Education and Culture, says Sofia Ribeiro - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação e dos Assuntos Culturais

The Regional Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs, Sofia Ribeiro, recalled today the improvements made in the Azores in the areas under her responsibility, Education and Culture, ensuring record investments in these areas with the approval of the Plan and Budget for 2024.

"It is with enthusiasm and a spirit of mission that this Government wants to implement this investment proposal. It is enough to compare where we were in 2019 and 2020 and where we are today. The data speaks for itself - 2024 could be a year of consolidation of the work underway," she emphasised.

Sofia Ribeiro spoke at the Regional Legislative Assembly in the city of Horta during the discussion of the draft Plan and Budget for 2024.

The Regional Secretary was adamant: "Never before has so much been invested in Education and Culture in the Azores as in 2024. We are talking about 43 million Euros for the two sectors in a consolidated plan of responsibility that complies with the programme of the Government for 2020-2024."

As she added, education in the Azores "will have a public investment of more than 36.5 million Euros, representing an increase of almost eight million Euros, compared to 2023, standing at 27%."

"If we compare this Government's public investment proposal with the last proposal from the previous government, whose Education Plan amounted to nearly 18.6 million Euros, the increase exceeds 17 million Euros. The investment plan for Education for 2024 is almost double that of the previous government's plan," she emphasised.

Also in this regard, the "needs of the Azoreans" were recalled in the implementation of the budget proposals - for example, the maintenance of free textbooks was considered.

"Under the previous government, this was only available to 1st and 2nd grade students. With this Government, more than 85% of students will have free textbooks by 2024, from the 1st to 10th grade," she explained.

With the digital schools project, in addition to the dematerialisation of textbooks, there is also a major investment in the purchase of equipment - 14 million Euros for this project alone, stated Sofia Ribeiro.

She continued: "The public investment proposal for 2024 continues to focus on social justice. In the three years of this Government, more than a thousand workers in our schools have seen their employment situation settled. A total of 572 teachers and 582 education assistants have joined the regional staff, demonstrating the efforts of the XIII Government of the Azores to provide greater labour stability. Although the number of students in Azorean schools is declining, there are more teachers and more education assistants in our schools. The increases we are proposing and the changes to the conditions of progression in civil service, as well as the recovery of teachers' length of service, have a strong impact on the Education budget, which results in a significant investment in people and in the qualification of our schools. Moreover, in 2024, for the first time, this Government plans to create incentives for the establishment of teachers in the Region."

As far as Cultural Affairs are concerned, the Plan also presents a "very significant increase" in funds with an investment of 6.5 million Euros, two more than in 2023.

"The most significant actions in the Region, namely support for cultural activities, specific support for philharmonic bands, and support for the recovery and research of whaling boats, are those that have been specially protected by this Government and further reinforced in the public investment plan. We are talking about an increase of 400 thousand Euros in the support for cultural agents and institutions. This represents an increase in support of 17.6% for cultural activities, 50% for philharmonic bands and 50% for the conservation of whaling boats," she continued. 

At the end of her speech, the Regional Secretary reiterated the "spirit of mission" of the Government of the Azores towards the Plan and Budget proposals, defending that, with the approval of the documents, 2024 "can be a year of consolidation of the work in progress."