The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) defines educational policies, coordinates their implementation and, as its main financer, ensures the smooth running of the educational system. Other ministries, the Autonomous Regions and municipalities also contribute towards funding.

The MECI finances its central and regional departments, as well as public education institutions, from the state budget.

It also subsidises private and cooperative basic and upper secondary education, according to the terms stipulated in the Private and Cooperative Education Statute.

These were the education budgets for 2024:

Pre-school, basic and upper secondary education, budget 2023

Source: Institute for Financial Management of Education (Instituto de Gestão Financeira da Educação - IGeFE).

Science, technology and higher education, budget 2024

Source: Institute for Financial Management of Education (Instituto de Gestão Financeira da Educação - IGeFE), CG - 2024.

The European Commission has also been contributing to education funding in Portugal through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF).

As a funding instrument for public policy measures in the field of education and skills development, and in the continent’s less developed regions (North, Centre and Alentejo), the Thematic Programme on Demography, Skills and Inclusion - Pessoas 2030 has an overall budget of €2 357M earmarked for the priority relating to initial qualifications, to which is added €864M dedicated to the development of adult skills. Added to these allocations is approximately €1.100M relating to Operation Types (OTs) which, although included under other priorities, relate to the matters of initial and continuing qualifications mentioned above. 
It is also worth noting that, in terms of monitoring the funded measures, the Programme plays a role that we consider important, in that it contributes to the monitoring of interventions, whilst also contributing to their implementation through a results-oriented approach based on contractual agreements with beneficiaries. 
The funding model for pre-school, primary and secondary education is based on coordination between central government and local authorities, within the framework of the decentralisation of powers, with budget allocation and execution being centrally monitored by the MECI’s departments.

Madeira and Azores receive transfers from the Government's budget to finance education in the respective regions, with the exception of higher education.