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There is no indication from the Ministry of Education about this support for students with disabilities – and the school year started a month ago.
Five federations that support people with disabilities denounced the silence do Ministry of Education on the financing of Inclusion Resource Centers (CRI), warning of the negative impact on the quality of school support.
In a joint statement, the federations that make up the CRI Monitoring Committee regret the lack of guidance from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), considering it a demonstration of disrespect for students with disabilities and their families.
“The federations regret and do not accept the absence of any indication from the Ministry of Education for this area, demonstrating a huge lack of respect for students with disabilities — and their families — who attend compulsory education, which is the responsibility of the State”, says the statement.
The situation has generated instability in the CRI teams, which are exhausted and unable to guarantee consistent educational support, according to the organizations.
The organizations recall that the decree-law that establishes the legal regime for inclusive education recognizes CRIs as fundamental agents in promoting school inclusion, promoting “the maximum potential of each student in partnership with community structures”.
In the absence of responses, a audience to the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, and the parliamentary committee on Education and Science, to demand a clear and sustainable strategy for this educational response.
The joint statement was released by the Federation of Portuguese Cerebral Palsy Associations (FAPPC), the National Federation of Social Solidarity Cooperatives (Fenacerci), the Portuguese Autism Federation (FPDA), Humanitas — Portuguese Federation for Mental Disabilities and the Union of Child Recovery Centers of the District of Santarém and Others (Unicrisano).
On September 25, Fenacerci reported that children with disabilities were no therapeutic support in schools due to lack of information about CRI financing.
Two weeks after the start of the academic year, MECI had still not communicated the amounts available to set up support teams.
