Government will finance teacher training with €4.1 million

O In 2027, the Ministry of Education plans to spend some EUR 4.1 million on teacher training through the funding of master's degrees in teaching and professionalization courses in service.

The money is included in the explanatory note, published today on the page of the Assembly of the Republic, of the proposal of the State Budget Government for 2027, for Education, Science and Innovation.

In the chapter on Higher Education, the Government discriminates against EUR 4.1 million for teacher training in 2027, under programme contracts to increase the training capacity of the institutions and ensure professionalisation courses in service.

The largest share goes to initial training, with 3.1 million euros to strengthen the offer of degrees and master's degrees.

Even before being heard in parliament about the OE2027 at the end of the day, the Ministry of Education announced today the signing of 15 new program contracts and five additions to existing contracts to increase the number of vacancies in basic education and master's degrees in education.

Contracts will increase the number of seats available by 2030 to 20292, creating 3,020 additional vacancies compared to the scenario foreseen in 2026/2027.

To increase the number of vacancies, institutions will receive an additional financial incentive per graduate, an increase that can reach 30% in the case of master's degrees in education for areas with higher teacher deficit, such as the first cycle, Portuguese and Mathematics.

As for the professionalization in service, the financing of 1,036 new vacancies contracted this year with four higher education institutions should cost one million euros in 2027.

Professionalization courses in service are intended for teachers who are licensed in the scientific areas of the discipline they teach, but without pedagogical training, and who, since 2024, can enter the teaching career conditionally until they complete this training.

Also in the chapter of higher education, the explanatory note of the Ministry of Education mentions 15 million euros under the Portugal Transformation, Recovery and Resilience plan to finance projects covering the development of new training offers, infrastructure reinforcement and training for advanced training and applied research.

Among the projects funded are the new course of Medicine at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, the medical-veterinary hospital of the University of Azores, and the new School of Sustainability, Industry and Digital Technologies, in Sines, of the Polytechnic University of Setúbal.

The OE2027 also provides €3.6 million in programme contracts with universities in the Azores and Madeira, with the aim of strengthening institutional training, diversification of supply and scientific expertise in strategic areas for autonomous regions.

Next year, the Ministry of Education will continue to work on the modernization of information systems, with the aim of simplifying access to higher education and awarding scholarships and social support through the creation of two new systems.

Implementation will be phased and an investment of EUR 1.3 million will be planned for 2027.