Algarve MP Cristóvão Norte has criticised a new state-funded line of credit for university students which is accessible everywhere in Portugal except in the Algarve.
Alongside PSD’s other Algarve MP José Carlos Barros, he has presented a proposal to the government to include the country’s southernmost region in the scheme and bring “this discrimination to an end”.
“There is a movement right now to reduce the number of university places in Lisbon and Porto and redistribute them across the rest of the country. However, in the Algarve, local students or students who come here to study cannot benefit from this line of credit, which allows them to take on a low-cost loan to help them continue their studies,” says Norte.
As he explains: “It is our families (in the Algarve) who have to pay more, our students who are treated worse without any explication, and the region and the University of the Algarve that lose out.”
The MP believes that this decision to leave the Algarve out of the scheme makes the region less attractive to students, who won’t find the same opportunities here as in other parts of the country “due to a government decision”.
“At a time when we want to have qualified workers staying in the region, we can’t have policies that push them away,” he says.
Only students who go to university in the North, Centre and Alentejo can benefit from these state loans, which are available to students at both public and private universities.
Students can receive loans from €1,000 to €5,000 per year depending on how many years they have left to complete the course.
By MICHAEL BRUXO michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
