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The OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments has completed a review of the secondary school building modernisation programme in Portugal. The review was carried out during 2009 to provide an objective assessment of the programme to the Portuguese government. The review also provides insights for others engaged in school building projects, be they policy makers, educationalists or designers.
In January 2007, the Portuguese government launched a policy to rehabilitate 332 secondary schools by 2015, with a total investment for the first 205 schools of EUR 2.45bn. In doing so, the Portuguese government had three principal concerns in relation to the school building stock. They were concerned about the physical deterioration of the school buildings; poor environmental standards in terms of, energy performance, environmental comfort and sanitary standards; and, the functional inadequacy of the buildings for teaching and learning.
The objectives of the modernisation programme include modernising the physical infrastructure of secondary schools in Portugal, addressing the principal three concerns; to open schools up to the wider community, and extending opportunities for learning to the whole community; providing for the future maintenance and conservation of the modernised buildings; and, to reduce their environmental impact.
To manage this programme the Government created a special-purpose state owned company, Parque Escolar, with a high degree of administrative and financial autonomy, and its own assets.
The OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE) review focused on five key issues:
- The performance of the programme in terms of emerging challenges in Europe, and in particular how it addresses the physical quality of school buildings, the suitability of the facilities for current and future needs and whether there are sufficient spaces to meet the needs, and how stakeholders are engaged in the process.
- How the programme can better meet Portugal’s strategic objectives for secondary education.
Whether and how the overall programme should be rationalised.
- The governance structure of the programme and the relationship between Parque Escolar, national educational authorities, school institutions and other stakeholders.
- The funding mechanisms, levels of funding available, and the efficiency with which resources are used.
The final report is available here.
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