STOP warns that government measures are insufficient and discriminatory

The Union of All Education Professionals (STOP) on Tuesday said the government’s measures in the sector were insufficient, discriminatory and could worsen the teacher shortage.

Shortly before the start of the new school year, the coordinator of this union structure, André Pestana, said at a press conference in Coimbra on Tuesday that the guardianship plan to increase the number of teachers could harm thousands more students, who could “have fewer lessons.”

“The ministry’s main strategy is to burden teachers with additional overtime in already depleted and ageing classes, which could lead to more sick leave and more students without a teacher,” he warned.

According to Andre Pestana, the situation can be resolved not by overloading working specialists, but by reinstating teachers who have left teaching and are working in other fields.

According to the leader, the return of these specialists “may not be a solution, but it will alleviate the current situation, which is the product of decades of neglect, and will have more concrete consequences, more realistic and sustainable than the government’s plan.”

“There needs to be serious investment in public services and in particular in public schools,” stressed the leader, who preferred to see an “exorbitant” increase in defence spending within NATO, used in education, health and the fight against instability.

STOP was also “baffled” by the Education Department’s announcement on Friday of support for sacked teachers, saying the values ​​were “unrealistic” and that a measure “that could be positive will lead to further injustice if not changed.”

According to André Pestana, the way the support is distributed “will create a situation of children and stepchildren among the dismissed teachers, and STOP will no longer tolerate this huge injustice, which leads to the demotivation of thousands of teachers.”