The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture restated in Horta that the safety of students and all users at school establishments "is undoubtedly a priority" for the Government of the Azores.

Avelino Meneses spoke at the Legislative Assembly during the discussion of a resolution on the safety and protection of school buildings and their users. However, the government official defended that the "enhancement of safety is the result of a widespread culture of civil protection based on prevention, since it is the best way to avoid accidents."

Most Azorean schools promote a culture of civil protection in addition to having their own evacuation plan; a third of these plans have been approved by the authorities overseeing this area. They are tested on a regular basis in collaboration with the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service and the Public Safety Police, added the Regional Secretary.

Avelino Meneses noted that many regional schools have developed several information actions and have also promoted the creation of civil protection clubs with the aim of creating routines that contribute to safety of students and all users at school establishments.

The legislative initiative, approved by unanimity, had already under analysis at the parliamentary committee, when Avelino Meneses admitted that the plan designed to reinforce the safety and protection of school buildings "faces some difficulties regarding its implementation."

"Some school buildings need significant structural changes which, regardless the greater or lesser need for financial resources ,will require the launch of administrative procedures that are always time consuming," stressed the government official.

For Avelino Meneses, the difficulties of providing all schools with evacuation plans in stipulated time are also aggravated by the fact that 136 of the 176 schools in the Azores "are under the jurisdiction of local authorities and not the Regional Government."