In a press release, the Ministry of Education states that the decision taken by the Portuguese institution does not bind the government body, which attested to the fulfillment of pedagogical and biosecurity requirements at school.
The Portuguese School of Luanda announced in a statement, released on Saturday through its website, that in the first week of the return to classes in person "a large number of students did not attend", revealing "insecurity on the part of the parents", although all security and prevention measures have been adopted, so it decided to return to the non-presential regime from this Monday.
In addition, a positive case was registered of a student of the school.
The pedagogical direction of the EPL also mentioned in the document that the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the country, with a progressive increase in the number of cases, as well as the weakness of response in terms of medical assistance, were factors that weighed on the decision.
On this observation, the Angolan Ministry of Education understands that, "in the first place, it is not for the EPL to make value judgments about the National Health System.
"Additionally, in comparative terms, at the level of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries), official data indicate that Angola (with 7622 cases) ranks 5th in number of cases, below Brazil (5,224,362), Portugal (99,911), Mozambique (10. 866) and Cape Verde (7752), a figure that reveals the executive's efforts to deal responsibly with the pandemic, as well as the control that one has over it, especially if one takes into account the ratio of the population vs. the number of cases in the various countries", the document stresses.
Angola is among the Portuguese-speaking African countries with the highest number of deaths (247), followed by Cape Verde (85 deaths), Equatorial Guinea (83), Mozambique (73), Guinea-Bissau (41) and São Tomé and Príncipe (15).
In the opinion of the Ministry of Education, the registration of a positive case of covid-19 in one student "is not enough to decide to suspend the mixed regime, since the Portuguese government's protocol, and by extension of the EPL, does not provide for the closure of schools based on having been diagnosed with one or two cases of covid-19".
According to "the Portuguese document that defines the rules for education, the closure of a school should only be considered in situations of high risk in the educational establishment," the communiqué also states, which calls on the EPL and all foreign schools in the country to conduct dialogue with the Ministry of Education "on the basis of good practices and respect for the rules in force, in a spirit of responsibility.
The Ministry of Education also urges the EPL to "establish a relationship of trust with parents and guardians, allowing them to feel more comfortable with the idea of sending their students to face-to-face classes.
