Portugal teachers union Fenprof protests cuts to Portuguese and French 2nd‑cycle posts

The National Teachers Federation (Fenprof) has denounced a progressive reduction of vacancies for the 2nd‑cycle Portuguese and French teaching group (recruitment group 210) in Portugal. The union says that, despite claims of a shortage of Portuguese teachers, the number of posts in group 210 is dwindling as retirements occur without replacement. For the 2026/2027 school year, only a quarter of candidates for group 210 secured a placement, the lowest rate among all Portuguese‑teaching recruitment groups.

Fenprof reports that schools are reassigning full‑time 2nd‑cycle Portuguese classes to teachers from other recruitment groups or even to 3rd‑cycle staff, leaving many senior teachers without positions. Hundreds of educators with more than 30 years of service are unable to progress through the internal competition due to the lack of vacancies. The union calls the situation an injustice that has persisted for over two decades and urges the Ministry of Education to integrate these teachers into non‑native Portuguese (PLNM) needs and to create distinct disciplinary groups for Portuguese, English and History/Geography in the 2nd cycle. The ministry has not responded to Lusa's inquiry.