Mother complains about lack of special transportation for two children

Two visually impaired children from Coimbra began the school year without guaranteed special transportation, the students' mother reported on Tuesday, criticizing the lack of response.

"There's so much talk about inclusion, and it's a lie. How can someone live their life and work in this situation? This isn't inclusion," Ana Vanessa Antunes, mother of the two children, told Lusa news agency, stating that, so far, the problem hasn't been resolved.

The children are five years old and seven years old, both with low vision, and attend, respectively, the Almedina Kindergarten and the Almedina Primary School, of the Coimbra Centro School Group (a reference institution for children with low vision and blindness).

“Access to schools is not the best and the school year started without guaranteed transportation,” complained the mother, who also has low vision.

After contacting the group, they reported that no one had applied for the route.

“They should increase the amount [paid], because that’s how they’re subjecting the children,” he criticized.

However, since the beginning of the school year, Ana Vanessa Antunes has been taking her children to school using Coimbra's normal urban transport network, but with difficulty and delays.

"The other day, they started school at 10:00 a.m. and we left home at 8:30 a.m. I can't force my children to miss school, but I won't be able to keep doing this exercise," he said.

In the previous school year, when the family lived outside the municipality, “there was no problem at all” in securing special transport, and they only experienced difficulties this year, he said.

When questioned by Lusa news agency, Coimbra City Councilor responsible for Education, Ana Cortez Vaz, recalled that the municipality delegated the function of contracting special transport to groups and non-grouped schools.

"The explanation we received from the Coimbra Centro School Group is that the route was put out to tender and was deserted. We also understand that the board will meet with a taxi driver, as well as the parent/guardian , to try to explain this," she said. The councilwoman admitted that "it's not always easy to find someone to run these routes."

"We hope that everything is resolved as quickly as possible," he stressed, guaranteeing that the amount stipulated for payment of the special transport will not be a problem.

“So far, this hasn’t been a problem,” he added, noting that the municipality is not aware of any other cases.