Portugal plans compulsory maths to 12th year and unfrozen undergraduate tuition

Tuition fees and social support

The government wants to unfreeze the tuition fees charged for undergraduate degrees from the next academic year, as the amount has not changed since 2020. A similar measure was proposed last year but was blocked by the opposition. Speaking at a hearing on the evening of 4 November, Education Minister Fernando Alexandre said higher education institutions will have to reinvest 15% of their tuition revenue in student social action services. He called this "a good principle" that would bring fairness to the system and ensure disadvantaged students are not harmed by the change. The hearing, held before joint parliamentary committees as part of the review of the 2027 State Budget proposal (OE2027), lasted nearly six hours.

Compulsory mathematics

The ministry wants mathematics to be compulsory from the 10th to the 12th year of secondary school, whatever course students choose. At present only Portuguese and physical education are required across all three years, while the common core also includes philosophy and a foreign language in the 10th and 11th years. Under the proposed model, students would follow a common core and then a flexible path with options, including in vocational education. The new curriculum framework, which sets the subjects and teaching hours for each course, goes to public consultation in December 2026. It would only take effect in the 2028/29 school year.

“We will have a common core in which mathematics will be compulsory from the 10th to the 12th year.”

Primary cycles and essential learning

The ministry also plans to merge the first and second cycles, which cover the first six years of schooling, a change already set out in the government programme. The reorganised structure will be tested in a pilot in some schools, starting in September and running through the 2027/28 school year. A public consultation on the merger is also due before the end of 2026.

“We will also bring the essential learning to public consultation in the second phase.”

The new version of the essential learning documents is meant to specify more precisely the knowledge and performance levels expected from pupils. It is also set to be linked with financial literacy, digital literacy and artificial intelligence.

Unfilled timetables and student data

Fernando Alexandre said 255 timetable slots in schools have gone unfilled since September, and more than 160 of them are full timetables. Public schools received 400 enrolment requests in a single week. The number of students without classes is to be published in December, when the ministry will also present a public dashboard with information about them. Schools and the ministry will be able to see all of that information through the dashboard. Four state secretaries accompanied the minister at the hearing, including Alexandre Homem Cristo, the deputy secretary of state for education.