Fernando Alexandre justifies the reform: “It is obvious that we have too many entities and that they are redundant in many cases”

State reform begins at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation. Alongside Gonçalo Matias, Minister of State Reform, Minister Fernando Alexandre announced the outlines of the new paradigm this Thursday, July 31, after the Council of Ministers meeting.

The Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation will significantly reduce its structure. Currently, with 18 entities and 45 senior executives across non-higher and higher education, science, and innovation services, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (MECI) will have only seven entities and 27 senior executives, with the integration of the disbanded organizations into new entities.

One of the entities to be dissolved is the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and another is the National Innovation Agency (ANI), whose functions will be performed by the new Agency for Research and Innovation. "It will be a new agency," stated Fernando Alexandre.

The minister defined the current Ministry as an "anachronistic structure," with fragmented organizations, disintegrated information systems, and disjointed governance that is admittedly malfunctioning."

MECI employs over 2,000 people, 500 of whom are teachers, and operates with over 300 computer applications and 280 processes. "We can't ask more of our system with its dysfunctional organization," he explained.

Fernando Alexandre admitted that a reform doesn't always have to involve reducing entities, but in the case of Education, he stated: "It's obvious. It's obvious that we have too many entities, and that they are redundant in many cases; often, what they're doing isn't what's provided for in the Organic Law. Often, they're both doing the same thing because we don't have clear processes."

"So, yes," he admitted, "the savings will happen. We've reduced the number of entities in the education, science, and innovation sector from 18 to seven, and we've reduced the number of senior managers from 45 to 27."

The minister argued that the reform cannot be implemented without valuing human resources. In response to reporters, Fernando Alexandre dismissed the idea that the reform is being implemented to bring teachers back to school. "We are obviously not implementing such an important reform with such an important objective as equal opportunities throughout the country, allowing 500 teachers to return to school. We have over 120,000 teachers." However, he added, it would be natural for many teachers currently working in the Ministry's central services to return to the classroom.

"Those who are strictly necessary for the performance of the Ministry's central services, supporting schools and families, will remain with the Ministry. Those who are not, obviously, will return to school, where they are sorely needed," he stressed.