“In most schools, even those often with 10 missing schedules, all students have classes. This is what matters. And why? Because there are instruments like overtime that help resolve this situation,” stated Fernando Alexandre.
Data released today by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) indicates that at least one teacher is missing in 78% of public schools, with 2,410 schedule requests as of September 17.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a visit to the new campus of the European University in Moscavide, Loures, Fernando Alexandre emphasized that this number represents less than 2% of the public school teaching staff, which amounts to about 130,000, adding that it is normal to have several thousand schedule requests throughout the school year.
“In any organization with thousands of employees, there will always be employees who are absent, either because they fall ill or reach retirement age,” he explained, noting that schools lose about four thousand teachers annually to retirement, along with medical leave and maternity or paternity leave.
Regarding his previous statements at the start of the school year about “98%/99% of schools having all teachers placed and students attending classes in all subjects,” the official clarified that he was referring to about 98% of the needs nationwide, not the number of schools with all schedules filled.
“We have 1,000 to 2,000 teachers to be placed each week, which we are talking about 1% or 2%. In this sense, there’s 1% or 2% of situations unresolved,” he corrected.
Most are temporary needs whereby teachers are quickly replaced, but some schools face more severe issues.
According to the same data from the Agency for Educational System Management, as of September 17, there were 38 schools with more than 10 schedules unfilled, with 11 requiring at least 10 teachers for full schedules.
Recruitment challenges persist mainly in the Lisbon area, where 20 schools have over 10 schedule requests, and in the Setúbal Peninsula, with five schools in a similar situation.
At the end of August, the minister announced the opening of an extraordinary external competition with 1,800 vacancies to link teachers in areas with the greatest need, expected to be launched soon.
“More than 900 vacancies are in the Lisbon Pedagogical Zone Framework (QZP), about 300 in the Setúbal Peninsula, and about 300 in the Algarve, with the remainder in Alentejo,” he anticipated today, noting that the problem is structural in these areas.
Despite the difficulty in hiring teachers for some schools, there are still 16,400 professionally qualified teachers who have yet to obtain placement.
“But fundamentally, these are teachers in the North of the country who do not accept moving to the Algarve, Lisbon, or the Setúbal Peninsula,” explained Fernando Alexandre.
Regarding the number of students without classes, the official reiterated that a precise tally is not yet possible, as a new information system based on summary data is being developed.
“When we again have numbers on students without classes, it will be with clearly defined metrics, with a certified, bulletproof system,” he stated, ensuring that the new system will be operational during the 2025/2026 school year.
