# Portuguese educational and teaching reforms > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/portuguese-educational-and-teaching-reforms > Updated: 2026-09-28T18:21:09.000Z. Sources: 52. Developments: 2. The Portuguese government has introduced reforms affecting various sectors of the teaching profession. In domestic education, Minister of Education Fernando Alexandre announced a revision to the School Autonomy and Governance Regime. This reform will grant teachers more than 50% of the voting power in direct elections for school directors, a change intended to “reinforce the legitimacy of school leadership.” The reform also includes salary increases for management teams due to increased responsibilities. Concurrently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an agreement with representative unions regarding the Regime of Teaching Portuguese Abroad (RJEPE). This deal focuses on improving conditions for professionals promoting Portuguese language and culture globally. It includes a revision of the remuneration table, which has remained unchanged since 2009, with expected cumulative salary increases of approximately 20% between 2027 and 2029, alongside an investment of 8.6 million euros. Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel described the agreement as a “fundamental priority to revalue Portuguese language teaching.” While the National Education Federation (FNE) noted the new values are a “clear evolution from previous tables,” the union continues to advocate for reducing teaching workloads. Recent data from the OECD ‘Education at a Glance 2026’ report reinforces systemic concerns. While public sector teacher salaries in Portugal remain higher than those of other university graduates, job satisfaction is critically low, with only 13.4% of teachers satisfied with their pay. The report also highlights that 91% of teachers regularly deal with disruptive student behavior. Furthermore, teacher shortages are concentrated in the Lisbon and Alentejo regions, particularly in primary and secondary education, and the country faces an aging workforce, with 41% of teachers aged 55 or older. ## Claims - The OECD released its ‘Education at a Glance 2026’ report. (corroborated by 31 sources) - 9% of teachers in Brazil's public basic education did not have full qualification between 2024 and 2025. (corroborated by 8 sources) - Most professionals will receive cumulative salary increases of approximately 20% between 2027 and 2029. (corroborated by 4 sources) - The Portuguese government and unions reached an agreement on the new Regime of Teaching Portuguese Abroad (RJEPE). (corroborated by 3 sources) - The remuneration table is being revised for the first time since 2009. (corroborated by 3 sources) - The agreement represents an additional investment of approximately 8.6 million euros, including social charges. (corroborated by 3 sources) - Minister Paulo Rangel stated the agreement aims to provide better conditions to revalue Portuguese language teaching worldwide. (corroborated by 3 sources) - Approximately one in four teachers globally is aged 55 or older. (corroborated by 3 sources) - Mexico's government education spending dropped from 4.4% of GDP in 2015 to 2.9% in 2023. (corroborated by 3 sources) - The FNE noted that the new values are significantly higher than previous remuneration tables. (corroborated by 2 sources) - 23.4% of teachers in public establishments in Chile were not fully qualified in 2024, compared to the OECD average of 9.1%. (corroborated by 2 sources) - In Spain, 25% of young people aged 25 to 34 have only completed compulsory secondary education (ESO). (corroborated by 2 sources) ## Timeline ### 2026-09-28: OECD report highlights global teacher shortages and education funding gaps The OECD ‘Education at a Glance 2026’ report reveals global education challenges, including teacher shortages in Europe, qualification gaps in Brazil and Chile, and declining education spending in Mexico. 52 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/portugal-reaches-agreement-on-new-teaching-regime-for-portuguese-abroad ### 2026-09-10: Portugal to grant teachers majority vote in school director elections Portugal's Minister of Education announced that teachers will hold over 50% of the vote in the direct election of school directors as part of a new governance reform. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/portugal-to-grant-teachers-majority-vote-in-school-director-elections --- Cite as: Portuguese educational and teaching reforms. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/portuguese-educational-and-teaching-reforms