The “Learn More Now” plan complements the new external assessment model and the measures implemented to respond to the lack of teachers in the Government's objective of “converging towards a system with higher quality”, explained the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation at a press conference at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting.

In terms of learning, Fernando Alexandre described a downward trend since 2018, as evidenced by the results of Portuguese students in international studies, and set a target for 2028.

“The goal is to improve results between 2025 and 2028 and resume the convergence process of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),” he explained.

To this end, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) will focus on reading in the early years of schooling, by carrying out a national diagnosis of reading speed in the next academic year.

Preventing failure will involve psycho-pedagogical tutoring and the involvement of retired teachers in supporting learning, who will play a role in mentoring young teachers and providing additional pedagogical support.

The plan also includes the end of the Monitoring, Follow-up and Research in Pedagogical Assessment (MAIA) project, created in 2019 with the aim of improving teaching, learning and pedagogical assessment processes, but which has been strongly contested by teachers, who complained about the excessive bureaucratic work involved.

According to the minister, the guidelines on pedagogical assessment will now be focused on the Directorate-General for Education.

From next year, the indicators on early school leaving will also be reviewed, as part of a new strategy to combat dropout.

In addition to these measures, the MECI stresses the need to pay particular attention to immigrant students, whose number in Portuguese schools has increased by 160% since 2018.

“It is a good problem, but it poses immense challenges, particularly to the education system and its role in the integration and success of these young people”, stressed Fernando Alexandre, adding that “it is not a challenge specific to the Lisbon and Algarve regions”, where migrant students are more prevalent, but rather extended to the entire country.

In this context, the Government plans to hire linguistic and cultural mediators and review Portuguese as a Non-Native Language (PLNM) subject, with the creation of a zero level for foreign students not from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).

The government will also send guidelines to schools for cases in which students are integrated midway through their school career, with regard to the form of assessment and placement in primary education.

“Particular care must be taken with Portuguese language skills, so that the careers of these students are not harmed and, above all, so that the enormous potential that many have is properly exploited and they are not disadvantaged simply because they do not master the Portuguese language”, he said.