The new Deputy Secretary of State for Education, Alexandre Homem Cristo, is deeply knowledgeable about non-higher education policies, having published several works in this area, particularly on educational reforms and school autonomy. Due to his career, he was, in fact, one of the most talked about names to lead the Ministry of Education which, to everyone’s surprise, ended up being handed over to Fernando Alexandre.
Former parliamentary advisor to the CDS-PP between 2012 and 2015, Alexandre Homem Cristo, aged 39, was a member of the National Education Council (2013/2015), collaborated with the Forum for Education Freedom and signed the study Schools for the Century XXI, published in 2013 by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, which compares different education systems and financing models and their effects on students’ academic performance and social integration.
Graduated in Political Science at Universidade Católica, he was one of the founders of the digital magazine on Educational Policy 20/20 and has written regularly about education for more than a decade, writing an opinion column, first in the newspaper ie, and since 2014, in Observador.
In his interventions, he has always defended the autonomy of schools, including the selection of teachers, and the freedom of families to choose educational establishments. “Before, schools were asked to be equal, now they are asked to be different and generate educational solutions tailored to their context. Therefore, the law also has to change – it is justified for parents to consider and select the educational offer that best meets the needs of a child”, she wrote, in an article published in 2017 in Observador.
In an interview given in 2012 to the European Council of National Associations of Independent Schools, he was asked what his first step would be if he became Minister of Education: “First of all, release information. It would allow the dissemination of information about quality in schools, student profiles and so on. I would meet with all the school directors and ask them what they need, what obstacles they face to their autonomy. Finally, I would like to try to implement a measure that is missing in Portuguese education: the freedom of principals to choose their teachers”, he replied.
Due to his knowledge of the area, Homem Cristo is a respected name in the sector even further to the left, despite ideological differences.
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