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Thousands protest against private school funding cuts in Portugal

Xinhua, May 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Thousands of people took to the streets in Lisbon on Sunday to protest against the Portuguese government's proposed plan to slash spending on private schools.

Dressed in yellow T-shirts, playing drums and singing the national anthem, teachers, students and parents marched down Lisbon's 24 de Julio Avenue and D. Carlos I Avenue before heading to the parliament.

The protest was organized by the Defesa da Escola Ponto (DEP), a movement that defends private education. The DEP said least 40,000 people were present at the protest.

The government recently announced that funds would be focused on public schools, "which belong to everyone and guarantee equal opportunities," rather than private schools that have partnership contracts with the state.

The move will result in shutdown of many private schools and subsequent job losses, according to the country's association of private schools.

According to the new enrollment rules introduced by the Ministry of Education, pupils can only join private schools with partner contracts if they live in the school district. Endi