Despite the overall stabilization of completion rates—92% of students in the 1st cycle, 95% in the 2nd cycle, and 88% in the 3rd cycle of basic education completing without retention, alongside 78% in scientific-humanistic courses and 69% in professional secondary education—disparities among groups persist, as indicated in the 2024 Education Status Report by the National Education Council (CNE).
The CNE warns that “the completion rates within the expected time for children and youths from socially, economically, and culturally disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as students of foreign nationality, continue to be significantly lower than those of other students, with notable discrepancies.”
Among students benefiting from Level A of the School Social Action, the rates are 13, 11, and 17 percentage points (p.p.) below those of non-beneficiaries in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cycles, respectively. In secondary education, the gap is 16 p.p. in scientific-humanistic courses and 12 p.p. in professional courses.
For students of foreign nationality, the deviations from global rates reach 18, 4, and 15 p.p. in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cycles, respectively, and worsen in secondary education, reaching 23 p.p. less in scientific-humanistic courses, the document notes, highlighting that these figures “reveal weaknesses in inclusion strategies and the effectiveness of support measures.”
The transition to higher education is also influenced by students’ socioeconomic backgrounds: “Only 48% of the most disadvantaged students enroll in a higher education course in the year following secondary education completion, compared to 57% of those who did not require financial support.”
Despite the increase in the number of higher education graduates, reaching 101,213 (a 5.9% rise from the previous year), the CNE cautions that “the challenge of ensuring equitable opportunities for all remains.”
Among the adult population (aged 25-64), 38.5% have qualifications below secondary education, 30.1% have completed secondary or post-secondary education, and 31.4% have tertiary education, figures that show “a considerable lag” relative to EU and OECD averages.
The report emphasizes that the labor market returns reinforce the importance of qualification: in Portugal, workers with higher education earn, on average, 74% more than those with secondary education qualifications, much higher than the OECD average (34%).
For young adults between 25 and 34 years, the difference is 58%, compared to 39% in OECD countries. Non-tertiary post-secondary qualifications also yield average gains of 14%.
In light of this analysis, the CNE concludes that the strategic challenges of the education and training system are to enhance equity in access and academic success, especially for foreign students and those who are economically or socially vulnerable, and to ensure quality learning from the early years of schooling.
It also considers it essential to promote lifelong learning, establish secondary education as a platform for personal and professional success opportunities, and develop effective mechanisms for monitoring, tracking, and assessing the fulfillment of curriculum learning objectives.
The report further emphasizes the importance of fostering competences that facilitate learning, such as critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, crucial for preparing youths for the “turmoil of the future.”
