More than two million children and adults were enrolled in the educational system in Portugal in 2022/23, with the population of foreign nationality representing 11.3% of the total number of students attending compulsory education in that academic year (142,760), the majority of Brazilian nationality. And this increase in students coming from other countries is one of the challenges faced by schools and which requires an effort of inclusion, measures and means to guarantee equity, highlighted in the report State of Education 2023, authored by the National Council of Education and now released.
“In a context of new demographics, the high retention and dropout rates of children and young people whose parents are foreigners highlight the need to effectively activate positive inclusion and discrimination measures. This is a worrying situation that needs to be understood in its multiple dimensions, particularly with regard to the efficiency and effectiveness of the Portuguese as a Non-Mother Language subject and the processes for welcoming these students into the schools they attend. Only from this moment will it be possible to act in a consistent and sustained manner”, says the document.
The CNE notes, for example, that almost 14 thousand students study this subject of Portuguese as a Non-Maternal Language, but that there were in schools, in 2022/2023, more than 55 thousand children and young people of some foreign nationality other than Brazilian, the majority of which, not mastering Portuguese. The council therefore questions whether the subject is responding to the real needs of migrant students. And leaves the criticism: “Regrettably, it was not possible to obtain the information that would allow us to know what, in fact, happened and is happening in a field as relevant as this.”
By region, the analysis of the distribution of the 142 thousand students of foreign nationality enrolled in primary and secondary education shows that the highest relative concentration occurs in the Algarve (practically one in five).
However, considering the incidence of these students in each region (ie, the proportion of the population of young people and children in primary and secondary education that foreign students represent in a region), it appears that in the Algarve practically one fifth of students at these levels of education are foreigners (19.5%). In Greater Lisbon and the Setúbal Peninsula they represent 16.6% and 15.0%, respectively.
Data relating to failures in the period 2018/19-2022/23 show an increase in retention and dropout rates in this period among students in the 3rd cycle of elementary school (7th to 9th year). In the 1st and 2nd cycle of basic education, there was stabilization at values similar to pre-pandemic levels.
In relation to higher education, the number of graduates continues to increase significantly: there were more than 95 thousand in 2022/23, an increase of 6.7% compared to the previous academic year and 29% when compared to ten years before . The majority of graduates are women and, despite the general increase, there continues to be a deficit in the number of students studying higher education courses in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In total, more than 446 thousand students attend a university or polytechnic.
The CNE also draws attention to the need to reinforce the offer in daycare centers and the kindergarten network, in order to universalize the offer for children aged 3 and 4.
Source: expresso.pt
