Portuguese state takes over management of the Portuguese School of Luanda

Information provided to the Lusa agency by the Ministry of Education of Portugal indicates that, with the cessation of functions of the CPEA, "the Portuguese State temporarily assumes the direct management of the Portuguese School of Luanda until the conclusion of the tender procedure for the new management" .

The Portuguese School of Luanda - Portuguese Language and Teaching Center was created under the protocol on the Portuguese Language and Teaching Center of Luanda, signed between the governments of Portugal and Angola, having been formally constituted in 2006.

The cessation of functions of the CPEA culminates a series of episodes that pitted a group of cooperators and the leadership of the EPL. Last year, around 300 CPEA cooperators signed an application defending the holding of an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the revision of the statutes and proposed the dismissal of the current governing bodies of the cooperative and the appointment of an interim management committee.

At the time, the CPEA rejected the accusations, claiming that an attempt to seize power was at stake and justified the increases imposed in the 2020/2021 school year with the need to ensure the school's survival.
The increase in bribes led to several protests by the cooperators who went to court to stop the measure. On the 9th of July, the Luanda court decreed a precautionary measure preventing the increase in tuition fees and summoning the CPEA "not to place any obstacles and accept the enrollment of all students educating the cooperators for the academic year 2021/2022" and to abstain from "any conduct that jeopardizes the fundamental right of students to attend school".

However, the cooperants who had advanced with the action against the CPEA complained that the managing entity of the Portuguese School was disobeying the court's decision, continuing to charge fees and enroll with the increases imposed.

Following this complaint, the Luanda district court sent a request to the Public Ministry to open a case for the crime of disobedience against the legal representative of the Escola Portuguesa in Luanda (EPL), according to an order to which Lusa had access.

Lusa contacted Horácio Pina by telephone, who assumed the management of the EPL, but he only mentioned that he had not been notified of any information from the court, forwarding any clarifications on the matter to the Portuguese Ministry of Education.

For the Portuguese Ministry of Education, and "similarly to what happens with other Portuguese schools abroad, the EPL has emerged as an educational institution of great prestige, playing a key role in promoting the teaching and dissemination of the Portuguese language and culture and an important role in strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the Angolan State and the Portuguese State".

"The Portuguese State remains committed to fulfilling the central objectives of the Portuguese School of Luanda and in strengthening the linguistic and cultural ties between the two peoples", continues this ministry.