Classes will begin this week for approximately 1.3 million students who will return to schools with no COVID-19 regulations but with news that many students still lack teachers.
Here are some questions and answers about the new school year:
How many students and teachers are in the schools?
Classes 1-12 begin this week Tuesday through Friday for about 1.3 million students. From pre-school to secondary education, there are about 150,000 educators and kindergarten teachers.
How many teachers are still missing in schools?
Schools currently employ about 97% of teachers, according to data released on Friday by the education minister, indicating that about 60,000 students do not have at least one teacher.
A study by Pordata last year found that around 100,000 students could be left without a teacher in at least one subject this year if the Ministry of Education does not take action.
Measures to counter the shortage of teachers
The Ministry of Education moved forward in the last school year by taking some measures, such as allowing teachers who were removed from placement lists because they canceled their contract to return.
The re-appointment of contracted teachers and the professional development of teachers, which are now taking effect, are other measures, along with the new rules of the sickness mobility system.
This week, the minister announced other measures to promote recruitment, such as making public the schedule of competitions with higher education institutions and job centers, or monitoring by a “task force” set up last year to help schools make up for the missing time.
Why are there no teachers?
One reason has to do with the aging of the teaching profession: most of them are at least 50 years old, so by 2030 half of the current teachers will be able to retire.
About 2,000 teachers are due to retire this academic year, according to the minister. Sick leave cases are added to them.
Another structural problem is that the profession has become unattractive, which has led to a decrease in demand for a master’s degree, which gives access to a teaching career.
Where are teachers most lacking?
The Lisbon agglomeration (AML) experiences the most shortage of teachers, both in absolute numbers and in proportion to the number of students.
Among AML 3rd grade and secondary school teachers in 2020, almost 40% were over the age of 55, the highest percentage in the country. Here, too, the decline in the number of young people aged 12 to 18 is less noticeable.
Alentejo and the Algarve are the other two most affected regions.
Where is the shortage of teachers the least?
The autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira will be the only ones in the country where the lack of teachers should not be felt in the coming years. Pordata estimates that the majority of 3rd cycle and high school teachers are under 50 years old, and there will be 10% fewer pupils in the Azores and 21% in Madeira in the next five years.
New Sick Mobility Scheme
The sickness mobility scheme, which allows teachers to change schools due to illness, changed this summer.
The new criteria limit teacher placement to school capacity, make the teaching component mandatory, and define the minimum distance between a home school, residence, or health care provider, and the school to which a teacher is requesting a transfer.
Out of 7,547 transfer requests this academic year, only 4,268 were accepted, with many cases denied despite the fact that the illness was recognized.
The situation has forced unions to warn of a possible increase in sick leave.
The Ministry of Education has committed to reviewing denied requests on a case-by-case basis, but the process has yet to begin as the guardianship requested a legal opinion after the National Federation of Teachers questioned the legality of the procedure.
Faculty on sick leave
About 2,000 teachers have been on sick leave since early September, according to the education minister.
The minister emphasizes, however, that sick leave among teachers is in the minority, ensuring that “statistically, absenteeism in the teaching profession is much higher than in the rest of the public administration.”
However, the minister said that 7,500 medical commissions would be set up to check doubtful cases of accidents.
7500 medical boards
The announcement of the establishment of 7,500 medical commissions about a month ago. Physicians’ unions warned at the time that it would be difficult to create such teams because there were currently not enough professionals to meet the needs of medical services.
On Friday, the minister said the medical boards were still at the decision-making stage.
Schools without Covid-19 control rules
After three school years during which schools have lived under strict COVID-19 control rules, students are now returning to classrooms without restrictions.
The use of a mask, the identification of circulation corridors, regular hand and space hygiene, and limiting students to only be with their “bubble” colleagues are some of the rules of the past.
Learning recovery plan
Upon returning to school, students and teachers are resuming the learning recovery plan created to deal with the impact of the pandemic on schools.
Temporary school closures in 2020 to contain the spread of Covid-19 and related distance learning have widened the educational gap between the most disadvantaged and the most privileged students.
In order to restore the requested tuition, the Ministry of Education launched Plano 21/23 Escola + with a horizon of two academic years.
Ukrainian student refugees
Last academic year, Portuguese schools felt the impact of the war in Ukraine, accepting thousands of students fleeing the war.
However, last week the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal (AUP) informed Luza that most of these minors who fled the war have not yet been enrolled in Portuguese schools.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Aliens and Borders Service has provided temporary protection to 51,716 people, of which 13,632 are minors.
However, according to the estimate made by the High Commissioner for Migration at the end of last week at the AUP, the number of enrolled students did not reach 4,000.
Negotiations between guardians and trade unions
The year was once again marked by negotiations between trade unions and the ministry. Increasing the value of the profession is the first demand of the unions, who are demanding higher wages, an end to the restriction on the number of vacancies for promotion, the restoration of service life, as well as changes in the recruitment and mobility regime.
Other recommended measures are changing competition models and providing a living allowance for those who stay in areas of the country where housing is too expensive, as well as a travel allowance for teachers who are housed in schools far from their area of residence.