Weeks of waiting, worry and uncertainty have been blown away today as Loulé’s Fiscal and Administrative court has granted a preliminary suspension of the decision, by the ministry of education, to permanently close Aljezur International School.
Parents, teachers and pupils are in ‘complete joy’: the anguish of the past almost month finally dissipating.
This is by no means an end to all the legal challenges, but a step in the right direction.
“School returns tomorrow”, the delighted directors have announced. “There will be pictures!”
And The Resident will be bringing them, as this has always been what in Portuguese translates as “a story badly told”. The truth in this sorry saga is so opaque that many have mused that dark forces have been at work.
Judge Diogo Pereira Santos however appears to have cut to the chase: as he admits in his ruling ‘Processo: 1028/25.3BELLE Ref. Doc.: 35487173’, dated today, “it does not appear from the case file that the primary suspension, namely the decision to permanently close the school, is based on a situation of danger to the students”.
Yet, as the parents have argued, the closure has put their children in danger, as they face “irretrievably” losing their school year, with “uncertainty as to where (they) can continue their studies”.
The Resident hopes to talk to the lawyer who led the parents’ case for a more detailed explanation of what this ruling means, but for now the moment is one of exhausted delight. Phones are ringing left, right and centre as parents exchange relief, joy and the sense of saving a school community that they have come to cherish.
As one just texted us to say: “We will not stop until this is all official”.
Director Karen Whitten explains that this injunction taken out by the parents, has “more power” than the one taken out by the school itself (which is still under consideration), as it involves the superior interests of the children.
One could argue that the superior interests of the children should have been at the centre of any dealings with the Ministry of Education. But for today, the only thing that is important is that ‘Aljezur International School is back!’
