More than 92 thousand students started classes without all the teachers assigned to them

The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) estimates that 92,000 students do not have all their teachers assigned to them, and this “situation will worsen” in the coming weeks with an increase in retirements and possible medical certificates.

“The school year is off to a bad start” and is likely to be “one of the worst,” warned Fenprof leader Mário Nogueira this Monday during a press conference in Lisbon to sum up the start of the school year.

“At the moment, according to our estimates, more than 92 thousand students do not have one or more teachers,” said Mario Nogueira, emphasizing that “the situation will worsen by the end of the year.”

One reason is retirement before Dec. 31, which Fenprof estimates means another 3,500 teachers with grades assigned during that time will stop teaching by the end of the year, with many more teachers “now entering certified status.” doctor”.

Last Friday’s appointment of 2,400 teachers “did not solve the problems,” according to the official, who cited the example of a Lisbon school that “had 25 (empty) timetables and today has 22 timetables” without assigned teachers. In addition, he added, “it is necessary to understand whether these three teachers will agree to this position.”

Mario Nogueira says low wages and the high cost of living prevent many people from taking the job. The professor gave the example of a professor from Porto working in Lisbon who has to pay rent in addition to fuel and tolls: “If you want to be with your family for the weekend, spend at least 600 euros on a room and spend 300 euros on fuel and another 200 euros for travel. That is, he spends 1100 euros. What’s his salary? 1,100 euros,” he said, concluding that “the teachers’ struggle will therefore continue.”

Regarding the schedules that need to be filled, Mário Nogueira gave examples where more than 10 teachers are missing, such as the Escola Virgílio Ferreira in Lisbon, which lacks 16 teachers, or the José Gomes Ferreira school, which lacks 22 teachers.

“Odemira’s school has 35 classes and is short of one to six teachers, which means that in some classes there is more time without classes than time with classes,” he lamented.

There are also teachers teaching classes from different years, he accused, citing as examples “history teachers who were assigned 10 classes from different years” or “ICT teachers with 400 students.”

“Everywhere we found a complete disregard for the number of students in a class, especially when they are classes with students with special needs,” said Mario Nogueira, pointing to the case in Castelo de Paiva, where in a third-year class “there are 28 students and five students with educational needs.”

At Serpa, “there were enough students to create a new 1st class, but the creation of the class was prohibited, and the students were transferred to other classes.”

The Fenprof leader recalled on Monday that some of the teachers’ main demands remain compensation for length of service and “indecent theft with immediate consequences for their salaries and future consequences for their retirement.”

Mario Nogueira used the Fenprof simulator and the example of his colleague and Fenprof deputy general secretary José Feliciano Costa, who is currently in stage 5 but “should be in stage 9”: “Losing 986.55 euros monthly,” said Mario Nogueira. , who once again spoke about “theft of service time.”

Regarding the forms of protest, Mário Nogueira stated that “the teachers showed great sense”: “If it were not for their intelligence, today many schools would be closed, but all of them are open,” he said.

This Monday marked the beginning of a week of strikes called by the Union of All Education Workers (STOP).