Fenprof says new plan to increase teacher numbers is better but “short-sighted.”

The National Teachers’ Federation (Fenprof) believes the proposal to minimise teacher shortages in schools has improved but remains a “short-sighted plan” that should “go further”.

At the end of the meeting to discuss the new “Plan +Aulas +Sucesso” measures, trade unionist José Feliciano Costa said that the guardianship proposals “are not the main measures that the Minister of Education is talking about.”

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the deputy secretary general of Fenprof considered it necessary to make the teaching career more attractive in order to respond to the shortage of female teachers in schools.

However, José Feliciano Costa acknowledged that the proposal presented this Wednesday by the Minister of Education “has a number of things” that meet the demands of Fenprof, as is the case with the changes aimed at teachers on the verge of retirement.

Last week, the guardianship authority offered to pay 750 euros gross to teachers who agreed to continue working after reaching retirement age, i.e. at 66 years and seven months and 40 years of service.

Fenprof said the new proposal would allow them to join the program once they reach the legal retirement age, with 40 years of service always required, the union leader said.

The opportunity to work ten hours overtime per week remains, but the representative of Fenprof reminds that “teachers are already overloaded with work,” but they will be free to work more if they want.

José Feliciano Costa described as “short-sighted” the plan presented this summer by the ministry, which aims to reduce the number of students not attending classes by 90% by December 2024 compared to the figures recorded last academic year.

Among the criticisms, Fenprof once again highlighted the fact that this is a program with a “limited duration,” since it starts now and ends in the 2027/2028 school year, and “will not solve the problem” of the shortage of teachers in schools.

“We need a basic plan that values ​​the career of teachers, which was also proposed this Wednesday by the minister and the secretary of state,” added the deputy general secretary of the largest trade union representing the teaching class.

For Fenprof, there is an urgent need to make teaching a career more attractive and create incentives for housing and travel, the two biggest barriers that prevent teachers from accepting jobs away from home.

The plan’s measures are limited to a group of about 160 schools located in areas of Lisbon and the Algarve where rent is quite high.

The ministry’s team is currently meeting with representatives of the National Federation of Education (FNE), and other trade union structures have also been called to a second round of negotiations on the measures of the +Aulas +Sucesso plan.

According to information released by the minister’s office on Tuesday, in addition to various members of the ministerial team, the new Director General of School Administration (DGAE) was also present at the meeting on Wednesday.