Funding for school social programs decreases in the Azores.

The Government of the Azores plans to spend two million euros less on school social action expenses next year, decreasing from 16 to 14 million euros, due to the reduction in the number of students enrolled in the archipelago.

“What we have is a substantial decrease in the number of students,” explained the Regional Secretary for Education, Culture and Sport, Sofia Ribeiro, speaking today at the Social Affairs Committee of the Regional Legislative Assembly, meeting in the city of Horta, regarding the executive's proposed Plan and Budget for 2026.

The governor was responding to criticism from Socialist MP Inês Sá, who said she did not understand the reasons for such a substantial reduction in school social support, which is specifically intended for students from the most disadvantaged families in the region.

“This is a result of a demographic issue,” explained Sofia Ribeiro, recalling that in previous years, and despite the decrease in the number of students that had already been observed, the Government maintained the level of support: “throughout our administration, this action was compensated, in terms of support, with a significant increase” in funds.

During the parliamentary hearing, opposition parties also criticized the reduction in funds allocated in the 2026 Regional Budget for the rehabilitation of the region's school infrastructure , which allegedly requires some urgent interventions.

“We can’t do everything at once!”, responded the Minister of Education in the Azores, recalling that over the last five years of the coalition government (PSD, CDS-PP and PPM), the Government has already invested “more than 50 million euros” in the rehabilitation of schools.

Members of Parliament from the PS (the largest opposition party in the Azores) also complained about the reduction in funds planned for the Culture sector in 2026, but Sofia Ribeiro compared the amount of funds planned in the 2026 Budget with what was included in the 2020 Budget (the last year of Socialist governance in the archipelago), concluding that during the PS era, investment was lower.

“In 2020, the planned investment for Culture was 7 million euros, and at this moment, we have a budget of 8.2 million euros, which is a significant increase,” the minister highlighted.

The criticisms from the Socialist Party were repeated when the funds for the Sports sector were discussed, due to alleged delays by the government led by the Social Democrat José Manuel Bolieiro in providing support to the region's sports clubs, a problem that, according to the regional secretary, is almost resolved.

“Except for those specific cases, the previous [sports] season has been fully paid for,” assured Sofia Ribeiro, adding that “the current season also has a high level of payment processing.”

The Regional Budget for 2026 nevertheless foresees an overall budget cut of approximately 12 million euros in the Education, Culture and Sports sectors .

The proposed Plan and Budget for the Region for next year will be debated and voted on in plenary session from November 24 to 28 in the Azorean parliament, where the right-wing executive does not have an absolute majority. This means it will need the favorable vote or abstention of the PS or Chega deputies to approve the documents.