Paula Pinto Pereira, Mathematics teacher, is a defendant in a legal proceeding and will answer in court for the crime of usurpation of functions. The woman taught for 36 years at various public schools without holding any license or qualification for teaching Mathematics.
The Public Prosecutor's Office filed a complaint against Paula Pinto Pereira, who may face a sentence of 24 months of effective imprisonment. The maximum penalty for this type of crime, according to Portuguese law, is two years of imprisonment.
Over more than three decades, the defendant performed teaching duties at different public schools, teaching Mathematics. However, she never obtained any academic training or qualification that would qualify her for teaching.
This case raises questions about the mechanisms for monitoring and verifying teachers' qualifications in Portuguese public schools, allowing someone without the proper academic competencies to have practiced the profession for so long.
