One week before the start of the school year, over two thousand positions remain unfilled in Portuguese schools. The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, assured that there are sufficient teachers available in the system to cover all needs, promising a more rigorous assessment by the end of the week, after a new placement competition is held.
The minister responded to requests for clarification from the National Education Federation (FNE) on the sidelines of the presentation of a study on Higher Professional Technical Courses (CTESP) in Lisbon. Fernando Alexandre listed a set of measures underway to retain teachers, including the payment of 20 million euros in overtime, tuition payment for students enrolled in education courses, facilitation of certification for qualified teachers, and the provision of relocation support for areas with the greatest housing shortage.
The regions of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, Setúbal, and Algarve continue to be the most affected by the teacher shortage, coinciding with areas that have the lowest secondary education completion rates. To minimize disruptions, the minister announced that starting September 18, teacher placements will become daily, drastically reducing waiting times between the opening of vacancies and teachers entering schools.
Fernando Alexandre also addressed the creation of a working group to simplify the enrollment of foreign students with AIMA, through a "green lane" for higher education. Regarding the low participation in the special secondary exam season, the minister downplayed the phenomenon, interpreting it as a sign that the digitization problems of the exams in the first and second phases have been resolved.
