The Ministry of Education owes approximately 38 million euros to the polytechnic institutes of Portugal. This amount represents a significant pressure on the budgets of these higher education institutions, which face financial difficulties due to this debt.
The situation is further aggravated by the delay in payment of the retroactive amounts owed to professors. These retroactives are related to the unfreezing of teaching careers, which had been suspended for several years.
The unfreezing of careers allowed professors to recover salary progressions that had been blocked, but the practical implementation of this process has faced funding problems and delays in the transfer of funds to the institutions.
The polytechnics indicate that the accumulation of this debt from the Ministry of Education, combined with the costs of retroactives not paid on time, is creating financial pressure that is difficult to manage, calling into question the normal functioning of these higher education institutions.
