As if it wasn’t hard enough to get your kids enrolled in private schools, Portuguese Private Schools Full. Parents in Lisbon and throughout the country are scrambling as the public education system in Portugal struggles with strikes and protests from teachers and staff, demand for private schools is on the rise. Many private schools have already closed pre-registration for the 2023/2024 school year.
Why Are Portuguese Private School Registrations Full Until 2024?
This increased demand for private education is not surprising, given the lack of classes and evaluations in public schools, as well as the overall insecurity of the school environment since December 9th. Many parents are now looking for alternatives for their children, leading to a growing pressure on private schools to accommodate new students.
While strikes by district teachers continue and two large demonstrations are scheduled for January 28th and February 11th in Lisbon, it seems that the instability in schools will not be resolved anytime soon. With classes in Portuguese public schools cancelled, no meals, and no support for students with special needs, many schools from north to south of the country will continue to struggle.
Why Are Portuguese Teachers on Strike?
The Portuguese teacher’s strike has been going on since December 9th, 2022. Just this month, 100,000 teachers, school staff, and parents marched in Lisbon while carrying posters demanding respect and dignity. They also demanded public schools that worked. Among their complaints were:
- Professional instability.
- Unpaid overtime
- Understaffing
- Low salaries.
How Much Do Portuguese Teachers Make As A Salary?
While Portuguese teachers’ salaries have increased over time, inflation and taxes take a big chunk out of their pay check. Low teacher’s wages lost spending power due to the rising cost of living which resulted from the Russian attacks on Ukraine. Inflation reached 9.6% in 2022 and food prices rose 18.9%.
Let us take a look at how much public school teachers get paid in Portugal:
- €1,100 average starting salary
- Under €2,000 for high paid teachers.
An interesting real life example was put out by SIC news. They took the actual pay check of a public school teacher who had been teaching for 34 years. His base salary of €2137 became €1605 after taxes. On top of that, in 12 years, he received a total salary increase of €20. I can see why they are on strike. I would not be too happy about this.
Why Are Portuguese Parents Sending Their Kids to Private School?
As a result, many parents are turning to private schools as a safer and more reliable option for their children’s education. Whereas before it was mostly expats and wealthy Portuguese who enrolled their kids in private schools, the rest of the Portuguese population needed to act in order to ensure their children’s education. This meant enrolling their kids in private schools, putting pressure on private education to accommodate the increasing demand for new students.
With private schools already sold out until 2024, it is clear that this trend towards private education is here to stay.
How Many Kids Go to Private Schools In Portugal?
While private schools represent only half the number of public schools in Portugal, the number of private schools has been growing in recent years, along with the number of students attending them. As of 2021, 20% of students in Portugal attended private schools. This trend is likely to continue as long as the strikes and protests in the public education system persist.
Do you have your child in one of Portugal’s private schools? I would love to hear from you. Drop a line in the comments to let me know what you have experienced when trying to get your child enrolled in a Portuguese private school.