Lack of teachers: union to present 12 proposals to government

The Independent Union of Teachers and Educators (SIPE) have sent the Ministry of Education a list of 12 proposals that it wants to see discussed at Wednesday’s meeting, to respond to the problem of lack of teachers in Portugal.

Valuing the teaching profession, investing in training and allowing the rejuvenation of the class are just some of the ideas that SIPE have listed in the document.

The lack of teachers is already a known problem, with a tendency to worsen in the coming years, therefore the union will present 12 proposals to discuss at the first meeting with the new minister, João Costa.

Regarding the suggestion of recruiting unqualified professionals for teaching on the horizon, SIPE say that this is an unacceptable solution, the approximately 1,700 students who are expected to finish their Masters in Education this year can compete for these teaching positions inschool, allowing to reduce the problem right at the beginning of the next school year.

The teachers’ union also suggest investing in professional internships, which should not only be remunerated but should also be included in the accounting of length of service for the purpose of career progression, and greater investment in initial and continuous training.

In order to minimize the lack of teachers in the most deprived areas, namely Lisbon, Setúbal and Algarve, they insist on incentives for teachers to travel.

Specifically, they propose that accommodation be provided for teachers who are displaced in these areas, for example in conjunction with local authorities or through residence allowances, also requesting the allocation of travel allowances to teachers who are placed in schools more than 30 kilometres from their area of ??residence.

The Ministry of Education meets on Wednesday with several unions in the sector, to discuss these and other proposals at what will be the first meeting of João Costa as a minister with the teaching unions.