Teachers in Lisbon Protest Against Insufficient Funding and Support for Displaced Educators

Teachers and Educators Rally in Lisbon

This morning, starting at 11 AM, the Ministry of Education in Lisbon will host a demonstration organized by the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof). The protest is aimed at contesting the regulations surrounding the allocation of funds to teachers placed far from their homes at schools identified as having a chronic shortage of educators.

Fenprof emphasized that, following the establishment of relocation support for teachers in only 234 School Groups/Non-Grouped Schools (AE/EnA), there is widespread indignation among teachers in the remaining 574 schools. Some of these teachers are stationed in AE/EnA that are even farther from their homes than those covered by Decree-Law 57-A/2024, dated September 3. Moreover, even those placed in the 234 AE/EnA under this measure believe that the support amount falls significantly short of their actual expenses, which include travel and accommodation costs.

In another aspect, Fenprof has criticized the 6.8% increase in the budget allocated to Education for the 2025 State Budget, arguing that it is insufficient to resolve the sector’s issues. They stated, “With this low level of funding, the problems in education will not be solved,” in reference to the government’s proposed 2025 State Budget (OE2025) submitted to parliament on Thursday.

The government plans to allocate a total consolidated expenditure of €7.47 billion for education, with the majority (78.4%) designated for personnel expenses. Fenprof underscores that this amount, in relation to GDP, remains significantly below international recommendations for education investment, labeling the sector's underfunding as a “chronic problem.”

Regarding personnel expenses, which will grow by 3.3% compared to this year’s forecast, Fenprof asserts that this increase is inadequate to implement the measures approved this year aimed at enhancing the teaching career, including the recovery of service time frozen during the troika intervention.

Consequently, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation is said to be merely managing the funds resulting from the anticipated retirement of approximately 200 million euros worth of educators and teachers, according to the federation.

In addition to recovering service time, Fenprof points out the additional burdens arising from the repositioning of thousands of teachers entering the career, the hiring of new teachers, support for displaced teachers, and incentives to attract educators to more disadvantaged schools.

On another note, the union structure criticizes some of the six strategic objectives defined for the coming years in the OE2025 proposal, particularly the new model for external evaluation that replaces old assessment tests with Learning Monitoring Tests (ModA) in the 4th and 6th grades.

They argue that “it will not impact the quality of learning, as this will only occur with improved working conditions in schools, which is not included among the six objectives outlined in the OE2025 proposal.”

Fenprof also questions the direction of digitalization and the revision of competencies within education, particularly regarding the roles of schools, municipalities, and the Ministry itself. They anticipate that the proclaimed autonomy for schools, alongside enhanced municipal competencies, will primarily serve to lighten the responsibilities of the central government.

Regarding early childhood education, representatives of educators and teachers advocate for the creation of a public network of nurseries, which they deem essential to meet the needs of all families, along with the universalization of preschool education for children from the age of three.