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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice

Portugal

In Portugal, higher education institutions (HEI) have full institutional autonomy. Within the scope of their autonomy, HEI establish the periods of teaching activity and the holiday periods. In the table below we present national trands.

The organisation of the academic year 2024 /2025 in Portugal is as follows:

Beginning of the academic year

September/October

National information

Portugal - School heads' salaries and allowances

School heads' salaries and allowances

  • School heads’ remuneration is regulated by top-level authorities for all education levels. School heads are teachers elected by the School General Council - school body composed by teachers and other education community members.  
  • The minimum qualification required for school heads is ISCED 7. In addition, all school heads must have 5-year teaching experience.
  • Salary progression of school heads is subject to participation in professional development activities. Principals, deputy principals and principal's assistants receive an increase in salary during the assignment for the position and according to the total number of students in their respective clustered and non-clustered schools.
  • School heads are civil servants.

Teachers' salaries

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    National information

    Portugal - Teachers' salaries and allowances

    Teachers' salaries and allowances

    • Teachers’ remuneration is regulated by top-level authorities for all education levels.
    • The minimum qualification required for teachers at all levels is ISCED 7. Successful completion of probationary period and induction programme is also required.
    • The progression depends on participation in professional development activities, years in service, performance evaluation, specific quotas.
    • Teachers have civil servant status.

    School heads' salaries

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      National Information

      Further readings

      National education systems - Portugal, Eurydice

       

       

      Key features of the education system

      Governance

      Education in Portugal is organised according to the democratic principles established by the Constitution of the Republic (1976), particularly the freedom to teach and learn (Art. No 43), as well as citizens’ rights and duties of the state in this area (Art. No 73-77). These same principles were the foundation of the Education Act (1986), which defines educational objectives, structures and modes of organisation.

      Bilingual education

      Following on from an Early Bilingual Learning Project in basic education, the Bilingual Schools Programme in English (Programa Escolas Bilingues em Inglês - PEBI) was created from the 2016/17 school year as part of a partnership between the Ministry of Education (through the Directorate-General for Education) and the British Council Portugal, which is monitored by the Directorate-General for Schools.

      Objectives and accessibility

      Home-based provision is provided by childminders, who can work autonomously, directly hired by parents, or be part of formal groups called family crèches:

      Steering documents

      ECEC for children under 3 years old

      The Pedagogical Guidelines for Creches (PGC), published in 2024, are the result of a joint effort by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) and the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, which aims to produce a guideline document for the development of children's pedagogical activity in creches. 

      ECEC place guarantee

      ECEC for children under 3 years old

      There is no legal guarantee to a place in early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children under the age of three and demand still outstrips supply.

      One in two children under the age of three are enrolled in ECEC settings. Provision has increased considerably in recent years, particularly in terms of crèches.