Latest news and stories about education quality in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
A Pordata report reveals that secondary education completion rates are lower in Lisbon, Setúbal, and the Algarve, despite an overall increase in student enrollment and higher education participation across Portugal.
Pressure is mounting on Portugal's education minister following a significant failure in the national exam marking process, sparking widespread public criticism and calls for resignation.
The new rector of Iscte, Helena Carreiras, warns that new degree and diploma legislation must be carefully implemented to prevent increased inequality in university access, emphasizing the need for institutions to support student skill development from the start.
The Portuguese government, UGT, and four business confederations are meeting to negotiate a decisive agreement on new labour law reforms.
The Education Inspectorate has launched an inquiry into two institutions providing support for students outside the traditional school system, including the Clonlara Portugal association which is currently seeking authorisation for a new campus.
The new school facility will merge the Júlio Dinis and Fernando Pessoa primary schools, which were in a “degraded state,” according to the Mayor of Loures.
The Lisbon mayor considers it “absolutely unacceptable” for the Government to transfer costs to municipalities. The PS believes the city had an “extraordinary funding opportunity” with the RRP.
Chega will vote in favour of the Left Bloc's (BE) proposal for Parliament to establish an inquiry commission into the digital grading process for national exams, but hopes it will not distract from the Minister of Internal Administration.
Rui Barata, coordinator of Basic Education in Queluz, acknowledges some teacher shortages in the Sintra municipality but rules out a “serious” scenario. In an analysis of the sector's weaknesses, the official warns that there are “very exhausted operational assistants,” so there must be an “investment” in training more staff. “Schools need human resources to cope with the increase in students,” he adds.
The mayor stated that there are responsibilities to be determined regarding this process initiated by the PS.
The Assembly of the Republic will debate the proposal on Wednesday.
Principals try to find a solution for the more than 500 students who were still without an assigned school.
Marco Almeida requests access to the enrollment portal to find out how many students remain without a school. The mayor of Sintra hopes to resolve the placements in today's meeting with the Ministry and the school directors.
Students in Lisbon municipality schools who had not yet been placed were integrated into existing classes, which means that, in some cases, they will operate with more students than the law provides for.
The Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, responds to the criticism he faced at the start of the school year, specifically regarding students who were not placed: “There are schools that had capacity and refused students. I have already requested explanations and ordered an inquiry by the Inspectorate to understand why they refused students when they had capacity.”
Fernando Alexandre argues that expanding class sizes is provided for by law and denies a loss in teaching quality with up to 30 students. Regarding Sintra, he guarantees that the issue was resolved and far from the data presented by FENPROF.
The president of the Association of School Principals considered the administrative placement solution for 600 students in Lisbon schools to be “excellent”, “plausible” and a “good strategy”, but admits that there will be overcrowded classes in Lisbon schools. “There is no other solution in this case. The Ministry is under pressure, the principals are under pressure”, he considers, in an interview with RTP.
Filinto Lima acknowledges that school class sizes in Lisbon could exceed the legally permitted limit.
The Minister of Education confirmed this Tuesday, October 15, that the solution for placing students who were still without a school involves expanding class sizes, increasing the number of classes, and adding shifts. Fernando Alexandre maintains that the quality of education will not be harmed, citing scientific evidence that classes of up to 30 students do not suffer in quality. He also addressed the situation in Sintra, stating that the number of unplaced students is much lower than the figures reported by the teachers' union, Fenprof. The minister noted that late enrollment requests, particularly from migrant students, are a recurring issue. Meanwhile, all students in the Lisbon municipality have now been placed following an emergency meeting between school clusters and the education management agency.
The National Association of Directors of Public Groups and Schools praises the expansion of class sizes to resolve the lack of vacancies in Lisbon, but wants more classes and for student rejections to be investigated.
This is what the National Association of Directors of Public School Clusters and Schools told Observador radio. Additionally, the fight against wildfires in Proença-a-Nova has been reinforced in the last few hours with aerial support.
Filinto Lima praises the strategy that resolved the lack of places in Lisbon schools. However, the President of the Public Schools Association calls for an increase in the number of classes in the future.
Students from pre-school to secondary education who previously lacked school placements in Lisbon were all assigned following a meeting on Monday, September 14, between Lisbon school clusters and the Agency for the Management of the Educational System (AGSE). According to Público, the solution involves increasing class sizes, opening new classes, and reorganising school spaces. While other municipalities like Sintra face potential issues, Mayor Marco Almeida stated he is unaware of any students without placements, despite Fenprof reporting 744 cases. Minister Fernando Alexandre has pledged that all students will be placed in schools within their region, while the Ministry of Education continues to address cases where directors have refused student admissions.
A meeting between the Ministry of Education and about 30 school principals from the Lisbon municipality lasted over seven hours and served to administratively place the students who had not yet been assigned a school.
Fenprof states that the situation affects other municipalities in the country, such as Sintra, where 700 students are still without classes. Furthermore, the IL does not rule out a parliamentary inquiry into the Minister of Education.
Mariana Leitão explains that she will not make a decision until she hears the clarifications she has already requested. Furthermore, the Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the national director of the Judiciary Police.
Directors of Lisbon school clusters, the Agency for the Management of the Educational System, and the MECI met to resolve the issue. Additionally, a fire is burning in Proença-a-Nova.
The opening of new classes and an increase in the number of students per class is planned.
The Ministry of Education and around 30 school principals in Lisbon reached a solution this Monday for students still awaiting placement, by distributing them into existing classes. However, problems persist in other municipalities, where hundreds of students remain without a place in public education.
