Setubal, Sept. 11, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Prime Minister acknowledged on Friday in Setubal that the quality and standards of education have declined in recent years, but he gave assurances that the Government is taking steps to reverse the negative trends in pupils' learning outcomes.
«The reality is that in recent years education has declined in quality; it has become less demanding, and for that reason, too, it has declined in quality,» said Luís Montenegro at the national ceremony to mark the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, held at the Barbosa du Bocage School Centre, which was inaugurated today in the city of Setúbal.
Montenegro considered that the results of the 2025 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests confirmed the need for the measures the government has been taking, emphasising the need to raise standards and strengthen assessment, to enhance the value placed on teachers, to upgrade schools and to make changes to the curricula.
Among the measures adopted by the Government, Montenegro also highlighted the «restrictions on the use of mobile phones in schools», which he justified on the grounds that pupils need to concentrate on their learning, and the changes introduced to the Citizenship subject.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the ceremony, the prime minister assured them that the Government intends to reverse the trends seen in recent years, rejecting the idea that this is a political «settling of scores» with the previous government.
He also highlighted the recruitment of more than 9,000 into the teaching profession, 3,000 of whom are in areas identified as being under the greatest pressure, namely Lisbon, the Setúbal Peninsula and the Algarve, citing travel allowances of up to €500 as one of the incentives.
The prime minister particularly highlighted the situation on the Setúbal Peninsula, which he described as «one of the areas most affected by the difficulty in retaining teachers».
He pointed out, however, that more than 600 teachers had been placed in the region as part of the exceptional measures and specific support aimed at areas facing the greatest difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers.
He refused, however, to confirm the figures put forward by the trade unions regarding teaching timetables still to be filled in various schools, arguing that it will only be possible to ascertain the exact scale of the teacher shortage through the monthly analysis of the teaching summaries, which will provide a precise picture of whether schools have managed to fill the gaps internally.
Alongside the concern to ensure that fewer and fewer pupils are left without lessons at the start of the school year, Luís Montenegro also highlighted the Government's commitment to improving infrastructure.
«We have completed 87 refurbishment projects under the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Programme),» said Montenegro, assuring that there are «a further 200 schools currently undergoing the same process», 35 of which are on the Setúbal Peninsula, with funding from the European Investment Bank.
«We are here to face the difficulties and challenges and to overcome them,» stated the prime minister, who has set the goal of placing Portugal amongst the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with the best results in the PISA tests.
The Barbosa du Bocage School Centre, which opened today, represents an investment of around €5.36 million and is welcoming 253 pupils this academic year, of whom 164 are in primary school, 80 in pre-school and nine at the Learning Support Centre. The project received around €4.22 million in funding from the PRR, with approximately €1.13 million being covered by the municipality.
GR/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
