Former Education Minister João Costa issued a public mea culpa regarding the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, which were classified as the worst ever since 2006. Costa acknowledged blame for the state of education in Portugal, adopting a posture of penance given the poor international results.
The PISA data reveals academic performance significantly below expectations, marking a low point in the history of international assessments of Portuguese education. This situation places pressure on policymakers responsible for the education sector.
However, the article suggests that the true origin of the problems is not clear in João Costa's explanation. The implicit criticism points to years of educational policies that prioritized what is described as 'identity catechism' over traditional academic knowledge.
The subsequent discussion focuses on the need to understand whether the emphasis on identity issues may have contributed to the decline in educational outcomes measured by PISA, raising doubts about the curricular priorities implemented in recent legislative terms.
