Teacher vacancies and placement delays spark criticism ahead of new school year

Education Minister Fernando Alexandre reported that several teaching posts remain vacant as schools prepare to start classes. He said a more detailed assessment will follow the next teacher placement competition later this week. The minister highlighted that the greatest gaps are in Lisbon, Setúbal and the Algarve, areas that also have lower secondary school completion rates.

In Castilla‑La Mancha, the Partido Popular criticized the regional education department for postponing the launch of the “A la Carta” platform and pushing teacher placement decisions to the weekend just days before the school year begins. The party warned that the timing forces interim teachers to learn their assignments at the last minute, complicating schedule planning and creating accommodation challenges, while many schools continue to suffer Wi‑Fi outages.