Teacher shortage in Portugal expected to continue for several more years

Minister of Education Fernando Alexandre said that the deficit will not be closed in a short time as thousands of teachers retire every year. According to Fenprof, approximately 2,650 teacher positions are still vacant at the start of the school year.

The teacher shortage in public schools in Portugal is expected to continue in the new academic year. Minister of Education Fernando Alexandre stated that the problem is of a structural nature and that the country "will have to live with this deficiency for a few more years".

According to the minister, approximately 4 thousand teachers retire every year. The government plans to use methods such as increasing teacher training capacity, overtime and additional assignment in needed areas to prevent classes from being wasted.

Teachers' union Fenprof reported that 2,650 teacher positions were open in schools as of September 1. According to the union, these positions correspond to more than 50 thousand teaching hours; 2,152 of these are full-time and annual positions.

The region with the highest shortage was announced as Greater Lisbon with 1,426 staff. Setúbal and Faro were also listed among the regions having difficulty finding teachers.

It is stated that 378 full-time positions are vacant at the primary school level. The Ministry argues that the existence of vacant positions does not necessarily mean that students are left without teachers. In such cases, overtime of existing teachers, classroom arrangements and temporary solutions may come into play.

Fernando Alexandre said that approximately 20 million euros were paid to teachers in overtime in the first half of 2026. This practice is used to cover course gaps caused by retirement, sick leave or delays in finding new teachers.

The government states that it will work with higher education institutions to expand teaching programs and attract young graduates to the profession in the long term. However, unions are of the opinion that overtime and temporary arrangements alone will not solve the problem of permanent teacher shortages.

Practical knowledge

If there is a course in the curriculum that does not have a teacher, parents can first ask the school administration for information about the temporary solution and course make-up. Since assignments may change throughout the school year, class representation, school communication channels and agrupamento announcements should be followed regularly.

Sources reviewed

Portugal Resident / Lusa news text

Fenprof – Statement regarding the start of the 2026/2027 school year

Portuguese Government – current measures to address teacher shortages

Diário de Notícias – Fenprof vacancy data