The increase has been 145% in five years, a period in which the Brazilian community in the country has been growing again. The category demands better working conditions and career valorization.
In Portugal, the number of Brazilian professors in higher education has increased in the last five years. In the 2017/2018 academic year, there were 109, which increased to 268 in the 2020/2021 academic year.
Despite the 145% increase, this number is still considered low because Brazilian students are the largest foreign community in the classrooms of Portuguese universities.
Spaniards are the majority of foreign professors in higher education in Portugal, with seven more than Brazilians.
In primary, secondary and early childhood education, the number of Brazilian teachers has remained stable. It went from 96 in 2017/2018 to 98 in the last school year.
Higher education is where most cases of discrimination and xenophobia against students occur in Portuguese education. But the problem has also increased in schools.
This is not the only problem. Teachers, both Portuguese and foreign, have a long list of demands for better pay, working conditions and career advancement. The unions have called several strikes against what they call the precariousness of public education.
February was marked by strikes, with thousands of teachers and education professionals demonstrating in the streets of the cities. Dozens of them camped out in front of the parliament.
New strikes and demonstrations are planned for March, as teachers and the government have not reached an agreement.
