The Minister of Education, João Costa, announced this Friday that “almost 100% of the schedules have a teacher assigned”, but warned that “between now and the start of the school year” there are “new needs” that may still arise.

At a press conference, João Costa explained that 13,101 schedules were requested by the schools and 7,099 teachers were placed by initial hiring (only for hired teachers) and 5,692 by internal mobility (aimed at permanent professionals). Thus, of the 13,101 schedules requested, “97.7% have an assigned teacher.”

The official also highlighted the effort that the Ministry of Education “has made in recent years” to “place teachers before the traditional” to give “people more time to organize their lives.”

The entry into the workforce of more than 3,000 employees was highlighted by the minister who said that, “since 2015”, “14,259 teachers who were hired and who today have a contract” have joined the Ministry of Education.

“The problem right now is called IT”

For the next school year, which starts on September 13, the “problem is called IT”, since 80% of the full 22-hour class schedule that was requested for this recruitment group was not covered. According to the Minister of Education, “most” of this problem occurs in the Lisbon and West regions.

For the placement of teachers in the IT area and in other areas where this need arises, there are still three hiring reserves. “We still have teachers available to place not only in the three hiring pools, but also throughout the school year in replacement roles as needed,” explained João Costa.

The minister thus guaranteed that there are still 25,858 teachers to be placed, of which 871 are career teachers. “The overall result we have” is the existence of “a time lag that is still comfortable for substitutions and new schedules that may arise until the start of the school year and throughout the school year,” he added.

João Costa also said, at the end of the press conference, that “the hiring process of 7,500 medical boards that will analyze the dismissals of teachers who “raise doubts” is “underway”.

Medical boards will analyze dismissals of teachers who “raise doubts”