The government has identified 10 pedagogical zone frameworks (QZP) with a “structural shortage of teachers,” as per the publication in Diário da República. This denotes areas where the number of teachers without full-time placements surpasses the average of the previous academic year across all QZPs.
These are situated in the regions of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, Alentejo, and Algarve, with 73.7% of the 259 affected schools located in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, where the issue is most pronounced.
This year, teachers assigned to these institutions will receive a travel allowance increased by 15 to 50 euros, depending on the distance, to incentivize educators to accept placements in schools struggling to hire staff.
The travel allowance was first granted last academic year to teachers in underserved schools where students experienced at least 60 consecutive days without classes over the past two years.
At that time, the government identified 234 such schools, many of which are now part of the 10 QZPs flagged for teacher shortages, yet 110 schools previously considered underserved did not make the new list, meaning their displaced teachers will not receive the increased benefit.
However, in September, the travel allowance was extended to all teachers placed more than 70 kilometers from their registered home, regardless of shortages in their school.
For most eligible educators, the rates remain: 150 euros for those living 70 to 200 kilometers away, 300 euros for distances of 200 to 300 kilometers, and 450 euros for those teaching more than 300 kilometers from home.
In underserved areas, these amounts increase by 15 to 50 euros, with monthly payments of 165 euros for placements less than 200 kilometers away, 335 euros for 200 to 300 kilometers, and 500 euros for distances beyond 300 kilometers.
The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof), which has long advocated for replacing the “underserved school” concept, regards the identified number of QZPs as insufficient. The union argues that “the shortage of teachers is increasing in number and spreading geographically.”
“At a time when the lack of teachers remains extremely high, with figures exceeding last year’s, and recruitment difficulties spread over a large territorial area, the MECI only considers 10 QZP as ‘underserved’,” Fenprof stated in a communiqué.
Besides the increased travel allowance, schools in underserved QZPs are included in the extraordinary external recruitment process, which the government is reopening this year, and the possibility of assigning overtime.
“These measures alone will not structurally resolve the problem. Meanwhile, the issue persists,” the federation emphasized.
A review by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation earlier this week revealed that at least one teacher is missing in 78% of public schools, with 38 establishments having more than 10 unfilled schedules, predominantly in the Lisbon and Setúbal Peninsula areas.
