Paulo Portas commented on Portugal's results in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which revealed a drop in indicators to levels similar to those of 20 years ago. The comment was made in the context of analysing international data on the academic performance of Portuguese students.
The former government member and commentator considered that abandoning the complete reading of books is a central problem in education. According to his words, when one stops reading, one also stops making an intellectual effort, which he considers worrying for students' development.
Portas also expressed his astonishment at the possibility that complete readings of works considered essential to Portuguese literature are not carried out. This position arises within the framework of the debate on the quality of education and the literacy skills of students in Portugal.
