One week before the start of the school year, there are more than two thousand vacant positions in Portuguese schools, according to the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre. In three regions of the country, the shortage of teachers is more pronounced, although the minister assured that the existing availability of teachers will cover these needs.
Fernando Alexandre made these statements on the sidelines of the presentation of a study on higher professional technical courses (CTESP), which took place this Monday at the Thalia Theatre, in Lisbon. The government official chose to defer a more detailed assessment of the situation to the end of the week.
The minister acknowledged that there are still many positions to fill, but argued that there are teachers available to occupy these positions. The shortage of teachers affects the different regions of the country unequally, being particularly problematic in three of them.
