Lack of teachers, thousands of students without classes and record numbers of retirements. This is the balance of the 2nd academic period, which is in no way different from the analysis carried out by school directors in the 1st period. Filinto Lima, president of the National Association of Directors of Groups and Public Schools (ANDAEP) says it is a “virus” [falta de docentes], which is already felt in all areas. “The course of the 2nd academic period was marked by this ‘virus’ that is already running through a large part of the country’s schools, with its epicenter in the regions of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and Algarve, in several subjects, mainly with regard to substitution [de docentes]”, he explains. A panorama that, he says, results in a “huge embarrassment for the teaching-learning process”, harming students “who suffer mainly in subjects and years of final tests or exams”.
Adding to the lack of new qualified teachers is the record number of retirements. In the first two months of the year, more teachers retired than, for example, in the whole of 2018 (see box). “In fact, the number of teachers obtaining retirement grows year after year, every month, in the order of hundreds, making it increasingly difficult to find replacement teachers, as the working hours are short (normally 14 hours) and some far from home, with no support for their stay, although very little support was provided for travel, but in singular cases”, highlights the president of ANDAEP. And that is why “it is increasingly difficult to find teachers to replace other colleagues, whatever the reason”.
Schools in the North of the country, which tend to be less affected by the lack of teachers, “are already beginning to be attacked” by the ‘virus’ [escassez de professores]”, guarantees the president of ANDAEP, fearing “an escalation of the situation that could lead to a pandemic, as the embarrassment is already felt in a widespread way”.
For Filinto Lima, the selection process itself also contributes to long periods without a substitute teacher. “Schools request missing timetables from the ministry, and every week, on Fridays, the respective platform declares its justice, increasingly without anyone to place it. A competition is immediately opened at school level for the vacancy to be filled. It’s a slow, bureaucratic process, leaving some students without classes for several days,” he explains.
