Portugal’s disastrous beginning to the school year has badly affected the Algarve where as many as 300 teachers are still needed to get the region’s schools running properly.
The news comes from the Algarve Municipalities Association (AMAL), which blames the government for preventing “thousands of pupils from receiving the education to which they are entitled”.
“The beginning of this school year has been the most chaotic and disorganised for the last few years,” said AMAL in an official statement, adding that the situation has also affected council investments.
“Councils did everything they could to make sure the school year began on time, ensuring enough schools and providing materials, outdoor spaces, meals, transportation and more.”
AMAL stresses that the government must “rethink its methods and go over the mistakes in order to find solutions quickly”.
Many schools throughout Portugal started this school year with too few teachers allocated. The situation led to protests from parents, teachers and associations, while the government has been running round in circles trying to sort things out.
Although Education Minister Nuno Crato announced that “800 teachers would be allocated in national schools by Wednesday (October 8)”, Diário de Notícias says the truth is that problems persist in about a third of the country’s schools.
