The Education Minister says he supports schools remaining open as a month-long lockdown period looms. Speaking during a parliamentary steering committee, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues argued schools had proven to be trustworthy and safe during the first term. He told MPs schools should remain open to ensure pupils who had been adversely affected by closures last year would not once again be left in the lurch. The government has said schools would remain open for children aged 12 and under, but was uncertain as to what to decree for teenage students.