Press Releases

Lisbon, 24 September 2007 – The Vodafone Portugal Foundation and the Innovation and Curriculum Development Directorate of the Ministry of Education today signed an addendum to the co-operation agreement on the Mobile School project.

Mobile School is a distance learning system that will be expanded this year to cover a range of situations preventing children from attending formal schooling. This partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Vodafone Portugal Foundation Mobile School aims to ensure that the children of travelling families, in particular circus workers and market traders; have access to and continuity in, and complete elementary education, thereby helping to guarantee the right of all young people to education and equality of opportunity.

Through the use of modern networked information and communication technologies and the use of an online learning platform and mobile technologies, these pupils will have a useful, innovative means of access to school programmes. The pupils and teachers will be in constant contact through the online learning platform managed by the Ministry of Education.

This partnership will enable 70 children to complete the 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education (5th to 9th Years of compulsory education) with the help of around 25 teachers. The sponsorship given by the Vodafone Portugal Foundation – in the form of free 3G Broadband data cards and all calls during the school year – totals 100,000 euros.

During the pilot phase in the 2006/2007 school year, around 15 children helped by 12 teachers received sponsorship, achieving a graduation rate of 83%.