Education Minister Acknowledges Thousands of Students Will Start School Year Without Teachers

Education Minister's Warning

On Friday, Fernando Alexandre, the Minister of Education, acknowledged that the upcoming school year will commence with thousands of students without teachers, highlighting this as a serious failure of public education that the government aims to rectify by the end of the legislative session. Speaking to reporters in Barcelos, he did not specify the exact number of students lacking teachers at the start of the academic year, stating that calculations would be made later.

The minister pointed out that the previous government's teacher recruitment efforts not only did not resolve the issue but likely exacerbated it. He mentioned, "We continue to have thousands of students without classes and are taking measures to address the issues we anticipated since June."

Commitment to Reduce Teacher Shortages

Fernando Alexandre emphasized that it is unacceptable for 2024 to see thousands of students without classes in Portugal. He reiterated the government's commitment to reduce by 90% the 20,000 students who had no teacher for at least one subject in the previous academic year's first term.

In addition to government measures, he stated that school directors play an essential role in managing schedules and hiring teachers.

Ongoing Challenges

The government is working daily to ensure the school year proceeds as normally as possible, despite acknowledging that a structural problem that has worsened over the past eight years cannot be resolved overnight. According to figures released by the Missão Escola Pública movement, the school year is set to start on September 12 with nearly 200,000 students lacking at least one teacher, particularly in essential subjects in the southern region and Lisbon.

Next week, the terms for applying a subsidy for teacher relocation and the conditions for an extraordinary recruitment process for schools with teacher shortages will be announced. Alexandre noted that an innovative approach will involve targeted recruitment and financial support for teachers.

Retired Teachers and Career Review

The minister mentioned that hundreds of retired teachers have expressed interest in returning to the profession, which could help alleviate the situation. However, he cautioned that the issue of students without teachers cannot be solved in just one year. The government's commitment is to resolve the problem of students without classes by the end of the legislative period.

Furthermore, Alexandre pointed out that the current shortage of teachers is tied to the devaluation of the teaching profession in Portugal, which has driven many educators to leave for more financially rewarding careers. To address this, the government plans to begin a review of the teaching career structure in October.

He also highlighted ongoing serious gaps in universal access to education, emphasizing the need for schools to better accommodate and include immigrant students, whose numbers are rising in Portugal. He remarked, "All of Europe needs immigrants, and it is important for Portuguese society to understand this."