In the letter Left Bloc (BE) MPs João Vasconcelos and Joana Mortágua queried when the Ministry for Education was aware of the situation and demanded its intervention.
The MPs said the situation was revealed by parents and guardians of pupils at the public school in Faro, some of whom are out of a job and could not afford to buy the €15 English books, and who were left “indignant” at being told by their young children that they had to buy the books “when their children still barely know how to speak Portuguese.”
In the letter, the MPs further revealed “according to the parents, who feel angered by this requirement at a public school, the aforementioned books do not indicate the name of a publisher or make any reference to the company selling them.”
João Vasconcelos and Joana Mortágua said they therefore feel the situation has “contours of illegalities” and demand the Ministry for Education intervenes to “normalise this unusual situation and guarantee it does not happen again in future.”