The school year in Portugal has once again begun with familiar problems in Public Schools. Teachers are lacking, places are lacking in areas of strong demographic pressure, and faced with the emergency, the Executive turns to larger classes as an administrative solution. The Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, defended that increasing the number of students per class does not compromise teaching quality up to the limit of 30 students, invoking scientific evidence and emphasizing that the measure is exceptional in nature.
The union organizations contest this orientation. FENPROF denounced the persistence of the shortage of teaching staff and considered that increasing class sizes worsens the operating conditions of schools. FNE warned of the need for renewal of the teaching body, estimating that Portugal may need 38,779 new teachers by 2034/35. The Government has responded with the + Classes + Success plan, which includes incentives for training, travel support, and measures to attract teachers to regions with the greatest needs.
The shortage of places in Greater Lisbon exposed planning weaknesses. In Sintra, FENPROF pointed to more than 700 students without placement, a number contested by the minister. In Lisbon, hundreds of students were distributed among existing classes after an emergency meeting. The Ministry ordered investigations into schools that allegedly refused students despite having physical capacity.
The column by Fernando Jesus Pires, director of ORegiões, concludes that the structural problem cannot be solved with emergency measures alone. The author argues that Portugal needs an articulated plan for the coming years, which anticipates demographic, teacher, and infrastructure problems, rather than reacting only when September arrives.
