National exam grading process faces widespread disruption
Students across Portugal are facing uncertainty as national exam results were published with many grades marked as “suspended.” While schools have begun receiving corrected files to replace these statuses, the National Federation of Teachers (Federação Nacional dos Professores or Fenprof) warns the evaluation process is compromised. Opposition parties have criticized the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, for a lack of clear communication regarding the ongoing issues.
Update: National exam grade lists ready for school distribution
The Institute for Education, Quality and Assessment (Instituto de Educação, Qualidade e Avaliação or EduQA) announced late Saturday that the validation process for 1,400 suspended exams is complete. Schools are expected to receive the final grade lists within hours and begin posting them on Sunday. The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação or MECI) has apologized for the delays and guaranteed that no student will be disadvantaged in higher education applications due to these technical errors.
Fernando Alexandre is the Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation in Portugal's current government, which took office in April 2024. An economist by training, he previously served as a Secretary of State and is now responsible for managing the national school system and university funding. He recently sparked debate by suggesting that university tuition fees should be adjusted to account for inflation.
Fenprof is the National Federation of Teachers (Federação Nacional dos Professores), the main public‑school teachers' union in Portugal that represents teachers in pay, working conditions and education reforms. Its criticism matters because Fenprof can organize strikes and mobilise teachers, which directly affects school operations and the implementation of government changes — something families and expat educators should monitor.
The EduQA is the institute responsible for the design and management of national exams in Portugal. It oversees the creation of assessment materials and is currently under review following reports of errors in recent examination content.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação, MECI) is Portugal's national ministry responsible for education policy from pre‑school through higher education and for national science and innovation policy. In this story MECI announced that public higher education will have 78,283 places for the 2026/2027 academic year, an increase of 1,465 from the current year, which affects university admissions and capacity planning for students and institutions.
