Ana Alexandra Resende, with a degree in History from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and an archaeologist for over two decades, wrote an opinion piece denouncing the precarious situation of contracted teachers in Portugal. With 2,132 days of teaching service distributed across schools in the municipalities of Faro, Loulé, and São Brás de Alportel, Resende states she is tired of being treated as a temporary solution, a disposable "stopgap" who is called when teachers are lacking and forgotten when the emergency passes.
The teacher recounts an episode that illustrates the injustice of the system: in a given school year, she was assigned to teach History, worked for about two months, took on classes and responsibilities, but then saw her placement canceled because she did not possess the required qualification for that recruitment group. The time worked was not counted toward teaching competitions, which means all that work, although it existed in practice, disappeared administratively.
In this context, the reference to Decree-Law No. 175/2026 arises, which allows the hiring of graduates with 120 ECTS in the scientific area of the subject to be taught. Resende expresses a mixture of hope, disbelief, and outrage at this change, questioning how it is possible that the State considers her competent enough to entrust her with classes for years and then treats her as if she had no experience.
The author argues that the problem goes beyond her individual situation and questions what school and what world are being formed. She calls for a demanding, coherent, and fair education system that values the experience and training of teachers, that forms free citizens with critical thinking, and that does not use the teaching vocation as an infinite resource. Resende concludes by stating that she will no longer stay silent and that she is not a stopgap, but a professional.
