Fernando Alexandre, Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, acknowledged this Monday that more than 200,000 students are still without classes. However, he made a positive assessment of the situation one week after the start of the school year, noting that it began with tranquility and normality.
Read More About: Immigrant Students In Portuguese Schools Has Increased By 160% In The Last Five Years
Positive Start to the School Year
The Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation said in an interview:
The school communities are mobilized, the principals, the teachers are mobilized, I think we have managed to bring tranquility, normality to what should be the beginning of a school year. The balance is positive because there is a big change in relation to the previous year, that is evident. We have a change in the state of mind and that is what is essential: that the school gives what the families expect it to give.
Teacher Shortage in Portugal: Emergency Measures for Student Enrollment
In statements made during the inauguration of the renovation and modernization works at Prado Basic School in Vila Verde, Braga, the government official acknowledged that many students are still without classes.
Furthermore, the minister listed:
There are too many students without classes, this data is always changing, but we probably have more than 200 thousand students without classes yet. But it is a problem that we are trying to solve with emergency measures. We have a competition underway for the areas that are most affected by this lack of classes.
Teacher Shortage and Management Efforts
Fernando Alexandre emphasized that since the beginning of his term, he has recognized that the lack of teachers is an issue that cannot be resolved from one year to the next. He also praised the efforts made by school management in addressing this challenge.
Also Read: How to Pursue Education in Portugal?
The Minister of Education also stressed:
The very important role of school management, the way in which they use the instruments that have been made available, and the way in which they manage resources, also plays an essential role in ensuring that the maximum number of students attend classes. I think that message has been received: we all have to mobilise, the Government, local authorities and school management, so that we can ensure that the system works as well as possible.
Need for More Teachers and Incentives
Fernando Alexandre acknowledged that there is a shortage of too many teachers but refrained from providing a specific number, as it is always changing. He expressed hope for more concrete data in the coming weeks to enable a serious and rigorous diagnosis of the situation.
Alexandre further stressed that:
We need a few thousand more teachers, who are the ones that are in short supply. In this extraordinary competition, we have opened vacancies for 2,309 teachers only for the schools that we have defined as most in need. We are talking about thousands of teachers that we need to add.
Attracting Retired Teachers Back to Education
According to the Minister of Education, there is a lack of incentives to attract teachers. In Portugal, nearly 20,000 qualified teachers are currently unemployed, said Fernando Alexandre. He added:
What we need are incentives, as there is a lack of motivation for teachers to work where they are most needed.
Moreover, he assured that the measures are having an effect and that the Government is working on multiple fronts.
Confidence in Retired Teachers
The Minister of Education expressed confidence that retired teachers will be willing to return and help address the teacher shortage as the government aims to reintroduce them into the education system. Fernando Alexandre predicted:
We set a target of 200 and I think it won’t be difficult to achieve this target. Many teachers retired because they were disillusioned with the path that education was taking. If they feel that there is a new appreciation for their work, their noble mission and that they are essential to solving a very serious problem in our education system, which is having many students without classes, I think they will respond to our call.
