Fenprof warns of worsening inequalities with changes in the Ministry of Education

The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) expressed concern today about the worsening of inequalities following the restructuring of the Ministry of Education, which it describes as a dismantling and “lack of accountability of the central State”.

"We're not facing a reform or a reorganization. We're facing a dismantling of the Ministry of Education," said Fenprof Secretary General Francisco Gonçalves, speaking to Lusa.

At issue is the new structure of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), announced on Thursday, which will involve the extinction of several entities, which will be integrated into new agencies.

The non-higher education system will undergo the largest reduction. From the current eight sectoral entities, which include three directorates-general, two major agencies will emerge: the Institute of Education, Quality, and Assessment and the Agency for the Management of the Education System.

In response to the changes, Francisco Gonçalves said that a reform of the Ministry of Education was expected, but admitted that he was not expecting "the size of the cuts."

"We're practically talking about the elimination of all directorates-general," the union leader emphasized, recognizing the need to examine structures and improve operations, but adding that this is a Ministry that manages "more than a million students, 150,000 teachers, and thousands of non-teaching staff."

In the opinion of the Fenprof secretary-general, the announced reform represents the central government's lack of accountability, with the MECI assuming "a mere role of arbitrator, of regulator."

"What led us to the universal right to education was precisely the Portuguese State's assumption of this responsibility as a whole, the creation of a public network, and the effort to ensure that all students in the country, regardless of whether they live in the interior or on the coast, in the city or in the countryside, in an area with more resources or in an area with fewer resources, had the same right not only to access but also to the success of public education services. The path we are taking today is the opposite," he argued.

Regarding specific changes, Francisco Gonçalves expressed concern about the "deepening of the transfer of powers to local authorities," through the delegation to regional coordination and development committees, which will now have a vice-president for Education, of the task of monitoring the implementation of national policies at the regional level.

"We could end up having first-class education and second-class education," he warned, explaining that there are local authorities with very different contexts and equally different resources to meet their needs.

On the other hand, the secretary-general of Fenprof also criticized the extinction of the general directorates of School Administration and School Establishments, and the consequences for competitions, the management of teaching staff and the management of the school network.