20,404 teachers now know their school for September
Portugal's education ministry placed 1,505 more teachers than last year, with 5,894 going to the regions with the deepest shortages. Acceptance closes on 18 August and staff report to schools on 1 September.
Anyone who applied has until the end of today to click accept. Portugal’s education ministry has placed 20,404 teachers for the 2026/2027 school year, and the acceptance window on the AGSE platform opened on Sunday and closes on Tuesday 18 August. Those who accept report to their school on 1 September.
Of the total, 19,152 are established staff moved through the internal mobility competition. The other 1,252 came in through initial recruitment, the route for teachers who do not yet hold a permanent post.
Where the reinforcements went
The government highlights 5,894 placements in the regions with the sharpest shortages, and the split says plenty about where the squeeze is worst: 3,317 in Greater Lisbon, 1,566 on the Setúbal Peninsula and 1,011 in the Algarve. In all three, housing costs and the commute between a school and a rent anyone can afford have become part of the recruitment problem.
Against 2025/2026, that is 1,505 more teachers placed overall.
The sum the union is doing
Teachers’ federation Fenprof came straight back with an awkward figure. In September 2026 alone, 558 teachers are expected to retire — close to half the 1,252 who entered through initial recruitment. Much of this year’s intake, in other words, covers a single month of departures rather than adding bodies to classrooms.
What changes next time
The recruitment model shifts from 2027/2028. Alongside the standard competition there will be a rolling, daily procedure to cover schools’ temporary needs across the whole year, with candidates free to register or update an application at any point. Approved by the Council of Ministers on 30 July, the redesign was already contested by unions for landing before negotiations had finished.
For this year’s 20,404, the calendar is a good deal tighter: accept today, be at the school gate on 1 September.
Chart: Tugadaily · data from MECI / AGSE, August 2026
