Two weeks before the start of another school year, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation will meet with various unions to negotiate a point in the decree-law that created an exceptional and temporary regime for hiring teachers.
The government and teachers will discuss the creation of a relocation support for kindergarten educators and primary and secondary school teachers who are placed in school clusters or non-clustered schools considered to be in need, specifically schools located in the Greater Lisbon, Alentejo, and Algarve regions.
At the end of July, the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, admitted that the next State Budget could include support to attract more teachers to schools with more cases of students without classes.
This has long been a problem that particularly affects educational establishments in the Lisbon, Alentejo, and Algarve areas. The ministry designed the “+Classes +Success” plan to attract teachers, a project that did not include housing or relocation support.
One of the plan’s objectives is to reach December with a 90% reduction in students without classes, compared to the values recorded last year.
In statements to journalists at the end of July, Fernando Alexandre admitted that it is “expected to see difficulties in meeting the needs [of teachers] in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the Algarve” at the start of the school year.
The previous Minister of Education had also announced support of up to 200 euros for teachers who were placed far from home.
The “+Classes +Success” plan provides, among other measures, for teachers to postpone retirement by receiving an extra 750 euros or to be able to work more overtime hours.
Union representatives will also meet with the ministry to analyze proposals for improving the working conditions of non-teaching staff.
