Latest news and stories about public schools in Portugal for expats and residents.
Schools are now authorized to open tenders for 1,406 new technical staff positions, including psychologists and IT specialists, aiming to improve student support ratios and address staffing gaps in 249 school clusters.
The government will introduce compulsory Physical Education for 1st‑cycle pupils in public schools from the next school year, affecting around 330,000 children. The Budget Law commits to hiring the teachers needed to deliver the measure but does not specify how much will be invested or the number of weekly hours to be allocated. The lack of detail raises implementation questions — recruitment timelines, teacher training, regional distribution, and fiscal impact — and creates uncertainty about curriculum time and equity of provision across schools.
Trial exams to test the digital format are beginning for 4th, 6th, and 9th grades. Public school principals guarantee that students and schools are prepared, even those affected by the storms.
Fernando Alexandre points out inequalities between the North and South of the country that jeopardise the mission of public schools.
Last year, the courts monitored almost 2,000 children with problems accessing education.
The president of FENPROF contradicts the Minister of Education. He states that it is a lie that there is a surplus of teachers in several schools across the country. José Costa says that the solution lies in valuing the teaching career.
Of the total 8,465 vacancies for the next school year, 3,152 are in areas with the greatest shortage of teachers.
The Minister of Education stated that the number of unfilled timetables in schools has dropped to nearly a third in just two months following the correction of errors and greater rigour in the information provided.
The assessment was made by Fernando Alexandre during his opening remarks at the sectoral debate in parliament, where the minister recalled the failures in the system for counting the number of students without classes.
The assessment was made by Fernando Alexandre in his opening remarks during the sectoral debate in parliament, where the minister acknowledged the flaws in the system used to count the number of students without classes.
The Lisbon City Council has committed to investing 45.1 million euros to rehabilitate ten public schools in 2026. This allocation represents 3.35% of the annual municipal budget. While the council is addressing urgent repairs, including issues caused by recent severe weather, it faces challenges regarding funding and the integration of schools into the municipal network. Mayor Carlos Moedas confirmed that the city did not utilise European PRR funds for these projects. Additionally, the council is moving forward with controversial changes to school groupings, such as the Rainha Santa Isabel school, despite opposition from parents.
A serious, transparent, and widely participated debate is essential, one that values the knowledge and experience of those who build the public school system every day, argues Fenprof.
The Minister of Education guarantees that several measures have already been implemented to mitigate the teacher shortage and ensure that students continue to have classes in the absence of a teacher. Even so, he admits that he cannot “strictly verify” the application of these measures in all schools.
During the second school term, there were about 40,000 students every week without at least one teacher.
The National Federation of Teachers states that, “weekly, around 40,000 students lacked at least one teacher” throughout the second term. It calls for “urgent and effective measures.”
The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) estimated today that during the second school term, around 40,000 students were without at least one teacher every week, a result of the shortage of teaching staff in schools.
The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) estimated this Monday, March 30, that during the second school term, approximately 40,000 students were without at least one teacher every week due to staff shortages. As the Easter holidays begin, Fenprof presented an assessment of the term, concluding that the lack of teachers in Portugal continues to worsen. The number of students without classes has increased, with Porto now becoming the second most affected region. The Ministry of Education argues that these figures do not necessarily mean students are without classes, as schools have replacement mechanisms in place. Fenprof is calling for urgent measures to attract young people to the profession and has scheduled a demonstration for May 16, warning of potential strikes in the third term.
Primary school teachers, as well as those for Portuguese, Special Education, French, English, and Mathematics, remain the most in demand, among others.
Fenprof guarantees that “the shortage of teachers in Portugal continues to worsen”.
The union structure estimates that around 40,000 students did not have classes in at least one subject during the second school term.
Retirements and medical leaves, mostly among teachers nearing retirement age, have pushed Porto to second place in the top five areas with the greatest teacher shortages, joining Setúbal, Lisbon, Faro, and Santarém. Francisco Gonçalves, secretary-general of Fenprof, warns that the aging teaching staff in the North is driving this crisis. Filinto Lima, president of the National Association of Public School Directors (ANDAEP), notes that the teacher shortage has spread nationwide, affecting core subjects like Portuguese and Mathematics. While the Ministry of Education is implementing measures, unions and directors argue that dignifying the teaching career, increasing salaries, and reducing bureaucracy are essential to solving the problem. Fenprof has scheduled a protest and is considering strikes for the third term if negotiations over the Career Statute fail, while the government continues to withhold official data on the number of students currently without classes.
Schools speak of a setback and a violation of children's right to education.
Parents, guardians, students, and teaching and non-teaching staff formed a human chain outside the school this morning.
No reform makes sense without three pillars: recognized pedagogical authority; serious and contextualized professional development; and a career structure with ten pay scales and decent remuneration.
The Minister announces profound changes to the teacher recruitment and selection model. The Missão Escola Pública movement launches a website for overtime offers.
The ongoing reform at the Ministry of Education is transferring new responsibilities to school administrators.
With the national recruitment list failing to meet school staffing needs, principals are resorting to direct outreach to former staff and social media appeals to fill vacancies. Experts and union representatives warn that the situation is worsening, citing low salaries, excessive bureaucracy, and a lack of career incentives as the primary drivers of the crisis, which now affects the entire country.
This is the result of a survey of public school teachers across the country, conducted by the Movement of Teachers in Single-Subject Teaching and the Metaprof platform.
The article discusses the growing social inequality in the Portuguese education system, specifically the lack of teachers in public schools. It highlights how students missing classes are at a disadvantage for national exams and university entrance. The author proposes that the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, create a financial support mechanism—a 'tutoring voucher'—to allow parents to pay for private tutoring for students who have not had full access to classes, warning that education must not follow the path of the health and justice sectors, where quality access is increasingly dependent on private payment.
The formidable machine of inequality that is private tutoring undermines our collective ability to fight and vote for the improvement of public schools. Opinion piece by Susana Peralta.
