Government guarantees registration platform is ‘stable’ but admits its shortcomings

This Monday, the Minister of Education assured that the admissions platform is “stable”, admitting that the system has shown “fragility” and expressed hope that the next academic year will be calmer.

“Since last weekend the platform has been stable, tens of thousands have registered, this problem is repeating itself, it happened last year, we hope it won’t happen next year,” said Fernando Alexandre in Maia, in the district of Porto, where the first of a series of meetings with school principals will be held by the government over the next three weeks.

The holder of the Education portfolio, as well as the Science and Innovation portfolios, explained that “the digital dimension is fundamental for government because it makes citizens’ lives easier, it saves citizens’ time, and unfortunately, there is a weakness in some digital platforms that disrupts the lives of families.”

“What should be done digitally, essentially we can save time, with one click we can register a child, but unfortunately these glitches have created a lot of limitations,” he said.

Asked if the next school year would be calmer, Fernando Alexandre expressed hope: “We hope so. We are trying to create the conditions for this, the restoration of work experience was, in fact, a factor in the big disruptions. It is assumed as a priority by the government and decided, but we know that there are other restrictions and we are working to solve them,” he said.

Among these restrictions, the minister once again highlighted the shortage of teachers, considering that “it is not normal that in Portugal in 2024 there are thousands and thousands of students who spend many months without classes in a subject and then will be assessed, and this assessment will be decisive for your future.”

By the way, Fernando Alexandre recalled the 15 measures announced by the government for the sector, including the return to active service of retired teachers: “I don’t have data, but I think that teachers are in this profession by vocation, most of them, “they have not been easy lately, but I think that when we call for such an important mission as ensuring that students do not remain without classes, we will get an answer,” he said.

Present at the meeting, which brought together a number of school principals from the North, the president of the board of directors of the National Association of Principals of Groups and Public Schools (ANDAEP), Filinto Lima, stressed the attention of the leadership to the problem of teacher absence.

“It is good to see from the Ministry of Education that the teacher shortage, which we have been talking about for several years and fear will become a pandemic, is a problem they want to face head-on. Now we need to see if there will be commitment from the teachers they are meant to serve,” he said.

Regarding the government’s measures, the official considered that the goals were “ambitious” and that they “depend a lot on the level of commitment of teachers”, but acknowledged that some retired teachers have a desire to return to work.

“We need new faces, we want this profession to be attractive, and now the career of a teacher is unattractive. Our young people do not want to pursue this career, and many teachers are retiring,” he said.