The ongoing chaos within the school placements system was further highlighted this week by the story of a primary school teacher – already working in the Azores – being ‘placed’ in 95 other schools.
The bureaucratic slip, which has affected endless other teachers, but none to such a ludicrous extent, is reported to have left a further 2,000 pupils in the lurch, still waiting for a teacher.
Although almost everyone blames Education Minister Nuno Crato for “the catastrophic start to the school year”, PM Passos Coelho last week reiterated his support for Crato and refused to accept any offer of resignation.
Meantime, the horror stories continue. In the case of Rui Pinto Monteiro (who two weeks ago was placed in 75 separate establishments), the problem seems to be a system known as “Bolsa de Contração de Escola” (BCE).
According to newspapers, teachers can apply for as many as 304 schools under the BCE. Once they have taken up a post, however, the system continues to run as if they were still on the waiting list.
It is the kind of bureaucratic headache that has affected hundreds of teachers – and seen thousands of children left out in the cold.
At the same time, 3,000 teachers, who were placed this year in schools but who have put in for transfers (due to sickness in their families which requires them to be working closer to home), are still waiting for news of where they should move.
This is all happening months after these issues would normally have been dealt with.
Teachers’ union Fenprof is meeting today with education chiefs to try and steer a way through the ongoing nightmare.
Fenprof’s coordinator Mário Nogueira told reporters as he went into the meeting that it was very possible that end-of-year exams this year would be affected by the fiasco. Exams in the primary system could be cancelled altogether, he said.
