“We already knew that the PSD was an expert in ruining the start of school years, now we see the PSD with a new specialty, which is ruining the conclusion of school years, causing additional stress on students who are trying to finish a learning cycle,” stated Porfírio Silva.
In statements to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic, the PS deputy considered the situation involving the release of national exam results affecting almost 100,000 students “unacceptable” and indicative of “a worrying pattern.”
“The minister never appears before those affected to explain what is happening,” he accused.
Porfírio Silva stated that the socialists are cautious and still “have some hope that the minister, sooner or later, will appear to explain to the parents.”
“We hope the minister does not invent another audit to delay, for more months, explaining yet another mess caused by decisions of his ministry. We have that hope, but indeed, it is worrying when thinking about the students and their families,” he said.
According to Porfírio Silva, “the possibility of annulling exams is already being considered, parents have already been asked if they agree to keep everything open or opt to annul this first phase, turn the next phase, which should be the second phase, into the first phase, and leave the retake period for August, without a specified date.”
The Ministry of Education stated that the results of the national exams in basic education Mathematics and Portuguese would be released today, a day after the scheduled date due to “technical difficulties” in marking.
The final year students’ grades should have been posted on Tuesday, but throughout the day, schools were awaiting the arrival of the final exam results, which will now only be sent today.
“The delay in posting the grades is due to technical difficulties arising from new processes for grading final exams in basic education,” stated the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (MECI), noting that the issue affects “a residual number of exam grades that were still unfinished at the time results were expected to be sent to schools.”
However, the ministry decided to delay communication to schools about the grading of all exams to “preserve the integrity of the external assessment process (…), ensuring equality among students in accessing information.”
According to the MECI, the National Exam Jury will send the final exam results on Wednesday, and the grades will be posted “as soon as possible.”
The delay in sending the 9th-grade exam results prevents the posting of the final grades, as national exams account for 30% of the grade, requiring teachers to calculate final student grades.
