The first school term ends this Tuesday. There were three months of classes marked, once again, by the lack of teachers and non-teaching strikes that led to the closure of hundreds of schools. The Minister of Education leaves with a weakened image, after the error in the calculations regarding the number of students without classes.
It was not just the signing of yet another agreement in Education, it was the signing of the document most awaited by the sector in recent decades that became the Government’s trump card to restore tranquility to schools.
“To the Portuguese teachers who yesterday had the opportunity in close dialogue with the Government to reach a historic agreement that puts an end to a period of stability”, said the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, in May.
Once the recovery of 6 years, 6 months and 23 days had been achieved, starting in September, the Government dedicated itself to another problem in education: the lack of teachers.
“I would say that it is the most serious failure of our educational system and public schools because what it has to do, which is guarantee access to everyone, and in particular to children from more disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, it is not fulfilling this role”, explained Fernando Alexandre, Minister of Education, in September.
And for this reason, a plan was presented with 15 measures to attract new teachers, call retired ones and keep those who are in the profession. But the Government wanted to go further.
“Reach the end of the first period with a decrease in the number of students without teachers in at least one subject of 90%,
A reduction compared to the 2023 school year. Almost 325 thousand students started the first period without a teacher for a subject. Two weeks later, the number dropped to 146 thousand.
Despite insistence from the media, the Ministry of Education stopped presenting data on unfilled timetables. At the end of last month, the Government made the first official assessment.
“We are practically within the objective, to be strict we will be around 89% reduction”, said Luís Montenegro in November.
“This government doesn’t like numbers. Between inaccuracies and omissions, whether intentional or not, lack of transparency… the truth is that when it comes to numbers, this Government fails to keep the truth about the Portuguese”, said Alexandra Leitão, leader of the PS parliamentary group
Before the calculations began to be done and confirmed an error in the advanced numbers. In the eyes of the Minister of Education there is only one person to blame.
“These are calculations by the Socialist Party based on data from the general management, so I think it is the Socialist Party that should explain what they are doing”, stated the Minister of Education in November.
“The discrepancy in the data that emerged is from the last school year. We must remember that this is not our responsibility”, said Fernando Alexandre in December.
To determine the true number of students without classes last year, the Ministry of Education requested an external audit, which is far from complete. Without this value, it is impossible to understand whether the Government has achieved its objective.
In the last fortnightly debate, the Prime Minister said that around 26 thousand students did not have a teacher for a subject on a non-permanent basis and 878 on a permanent basis, numbers that now raise doubts.
In addition to this problem, the first academic period is also marked by others. The non-teaching strikes closed hundreds of schools, thousands of students and families were directly affected. The Government considers that the responsibility lies with the
We are working to resolve the issues. They cannot be resolved overnight. Namely in the issue of non-teaching staff, which is a dimension that was not well addressed, but comes from behind, it is not the responsibility of this Government”, said Fernando Alexandre.
Meanwhile, the Ministry met with the association of municipalities and sent a proposal. Several proposals are also being discussed with teachers’ unions.
In the last three months, there were many negotiations that filled the agenda of Fernando Alexandre and the secretaries of state. The focus now is on reviewing the career status and initial training of teachers.
