The first initiative was launched last year in response to the significant increase in foreign students when the government authorized the hiring of a half-time cultural mediator (with an incomplete schedule of 18 hours per week) for every 10 foreign students. This resulted in 287.5 mediators being distributed across 319 school clusters.
Hired during the second half of the academic year, the mediators were unable to renew their contracts, requiring schools to initiate new recruitment processes in September for 310 mediators, an increase of 23 from the previous year.
In a report to the Lusa news agency, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (MECI) stated that by the end of last week, 293.5 linguistic and cultural mediators, including part-time positions, had been hired.
“There are currently 13.5 selection processes underway with completed applications,” the agency added, noting that there are still three positions to be filled in addition to these.
According to MECI, between the academic years 2018/2019 and 2024/2025, the number of foreign students in Portuguese public schools tripled, increasing from 53,000 to 157,000.
Over the last three academic years alone, an additional 87,000 migrant students joined the education system, which currently has around 157,000 students. On average, schools had students from 20 different nationalities, nearly double the figure from 2018.
The initiative, which this academic year costs nine million euros, was praised last year by school directors. They described it as a positive, albeit brief, experience, since many mediators only began their roles in April.
Speaking with the Lusa agency, the president of the National Association of Directors of Public School Clusters (ANDAEP) reiterated the importance of having these professionals work in schools to support the integration of students and their families into the school community.
“Public schools have many students from very diverse backgrounds. There are schools that need mediators but do not have them because priority was given to schools with more foreign-origin students. Reinforcement is necessary,” stated Filinto Lima, emphasizing the need for increased support.
Moreover, the directors’ representative hopes that, unlike the end of the last academic year, the newly hired mediators will be able to renew their contracts.
