Latest news and stories about education funding in Portugal for expats and residents.
Manuel Castro Almeida admitted that there is a “large dose of uncertainty regarding the funding of education”.
For 2025, public budget allocations for research and development in Portugal are expected to rise to more than one billion euros in actual expenditure.
Some are left cold at night, with reports of loans being taken out and appeals to parents for help. Management of PhD scholarships has been transferred to institutions, but delays have worsened.
Funding levels for Specialised Artistic Education (EAE) have remained unchanged since 2009, while those for other types of education, in public and private schools, have been updated in line with inflation. Opinion by Rui Fernandes.
A petition with nearly 11,000 signatures emphasises that the amounts transferred per pupil have been “frozen” since 2015, and demands “fair” sums updated annually in line with inflation.
More than six thousand people have signed a petition calling for increased funding for specialist arts schools, warning that the educational pathway of thousands of students may be at risk.
According to the released data, the number of teachers covered by overtime payments “will shortly be revised upwards”, as will the funding allocated to these payments.
The current amount stands at around €650 and will rise to €716, representing a 10% increase. However, schools say this rise is insufficient to meet their expenses, especially staff costs.
Parents, teachers, headteachers, staff and relatives of pupils from private special education schools demonstrated in Lisbon today to demand additional funding to guarantee schooling for 500 children and young people.
