Teachers over 50 years old increased at all levels of education

The number of teachers over 50 years old increased at different levels of education between 2018/19 and 2022/23, which compromises generational renewal and increases the risk of staff shortages in the near future, concludes the Annual Education Report 2025 by the think tank EDULOG, of the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation.

In the 2022/2023 school year, around 60% of 2nd and 3rd cycle and secondary school teachers were 50 years old or older – a figure that drops to 56.1% in pre-school and 44.5% in the 1st cycle.

In addition to being older, the teaching staff is extremely female. There are far more female teachers than male teachers, representing almost 90% of primary school teachers.

At the same time, a significant number of teachers remain on fixed-term contracts: 18% in the 1st cycle and 24% in the 3rd cycle and secondary education, which is a sign of turnover in an already aging workforce.

“Taken together, these data suggest that the system will face, in the next decade, a wave of retirements that will require active policies of rejuvenation and attraction of new professionals to guarantee pedagogical continuity and balanced territorial coverage”, highlight the authors of the report on the Education system in Portugal over the last five years.

The quality of the education system depends not only on teachers, but also on educational support staff. Administrative assistants, operational assistants, specialist technicians such as psychologists and social workers, and other professionals who provide management, administrative support, infrastructure maintenance and student support and services share similarities with teaching staff: the majority are also women and older.

The number of students per teacher is a structural indicator that reflects both the responsiveness of the system and the working conditions of teachers. According to the study, the number of students per teacher decreases as the level of education increases. Furthermore, the ratios in public education are slightly lower than in private education.

In the regions surrounding the largest coastal urban centers, student/teacher ratios are above the national average. As one moves towards the interior of the North and Center, the ratios become progressively lower, reflecting schools with less demographic pressure.

“The contrast is more pronounced in secondary education, where three areas of high ratios stand out: in addition to the usual coastal metropolitan areas, “pressure islands” appear in district capitals and subregional hubs in the interior North, the interior Centre and in parts of Alentejo”, the report states. In some cases, it explains, these pressure zones are justified by the existence of central schools that receive students from several neighbouring municipalities and end up having classes much larger than the national average, even in sparsely populated regions.