The Algarve is one of the regions of the country with the highest number of teacher vacancies, and the difficulty of finding affordable housing seems to be one of the main causes of the teachers' refusal to accept contracts in the region.
According to a survey carried out by Jornal de Notícias, more than half of all the unfilled positions, at national level, are in schools in the Algarve and Lisbon, both due to the difficulty in securing accommodation for teachers coming from other regions.
Together, the Algarve and Lisbon - which do not have enough resident teachers to feel their existing positions - account for 1213 unfilled teacher posts, when the national shortage is 2175.
Informatics, Geography and English are the most affected subjects. Speaking to the press, Pedro Tilde, director of the Du Bocage Secondary School in Setúbal, said that "in the Algarve, there are already teachers living in campsites." This led Filinto Lima, president of the National Association of Directors, to argue that it is a matter of urgency to approve, in the current legislature, a housing allowance and the improvement of access and working conditions for teachers.
Although these numbers mean that there should be about two thousand classes without at least one teacher at a national level, the Ministry of Education alleged that the Jornal de Notícias report pointed out "very specific cases" and that the difficulties that schools face "are in line with previous years”.
