Minister of Education Fernando Alexandre announced that the number of school schedules without assigned teachers has fallen from 1,208 in January to 448 in March. The minister attributed this improvement to new placements and the correction of administrative errors that previously inflated the data. However, teaching unions continue to dispute these figures, claiming the actual shortage remains more significant than official reports suggest.
Education Minister reports sharp drop in unfilled teacher positions
Wednesday, 1 April 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
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.
Sources (5)
- Minister says unfilled school timetables have fallen to a third after error correctionRTP Notícias · 5:49pm, 1 Apr 2026
- Minister of Education says there are fewer teacher shortages, but also "schools with an excess of teachers"Público · 3:52pm, 1 Apr 2026
- Unfilled teaching positions in schools fell to one-third after error correction, minister statesCNN Portugal · 4:52pm, 1 Apr 2026
- Unfilled school timetables drop to one-third after correction of administrative errorsExpresso · 4:25pm, 1 Apr 2026
- Minister of Education guarantees that school schedules without teachers are at 448, less than half of the January figureDinheiro Vivo · 4:55pm, 1 Apr 2026
