Portugal education ministry delays national exam results after digital grading problems

Portugal's Ministry of Education, led by Minister Fernando Alexandre, has extended the deadline for classifying the secondary national exams after a digital platform used for grading encountered widespread technical failures. By early July the ministry reported 92‑98% of the roughly 300,000 papers had been processed, but teachers continued to receive new items to grade and reported missing answer‑sheet pages, prompting concerns over grading rigor.

The classification deadline was pushed to Wednesday, July 18, while the publication of the final scores was kept on Friday, July 17. The teachers' union FENPROF filed a complaint with the Attorney General demanding an inquiry into the platform’s reliability, and the parliamentary group PCP asked for an urgent debate with the minister on the same day. The Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, publicly backed the minister, acknowledging the technical setbacks but affirming that the government is working to resolve them. Several civil movements, including Missão Escola Pública, have called for further extensions, citing ongoing issues for classifiers.

Despite the delays, the ministry assured that the results will be posted on the scheduled date and that a digital access system for students to view their exams will be made available.