Education minister ‘summoned to parliament’ over national exam chaos

This week, politically-speaking, is going to be a hot one – with a State of the Nation speech in which the prime minister will be hard-pressed to paint a rosy picture of the AD coalition’s two years in power, exactly at a point where one of the government’s many (failed) reforms is constantly in the headlines.

The chaos surrounding the first foray into digital marking of crucial end of secondary school exams (the exam results that determine a pupil’s future educational trajectory) will be at the centre of Thursday debate.

In the meantime, Portugal’s communist party has summoned the education minister to parliament on the same day (July 17, Friday) as more than 300,000 exam results are due to be released.

The request, submitted to the speaker of parliament, calls for the minister to explain what measures the government has taken “to ensure that no student is harmed by this chaotic national exam assessment process”, for which the PCP blames the Ministry of Education and the government.

The party argues that the minister should not avoid parliamentary scrutiny after declining to appear before the parliamentary Education Committee before July 21 – the earliest date he reportedly offered for a hearing.

The move follows a series of escalating political demands over the shambolic digital marking process. Last Monday, the PCP requested an urgent committee hearing with the minister, while party leader Paulo Raimundo later challenged him to appear before parliament before the end of this week, warning that otherwise the party would seek an emergency debate.

Right-wing CHEGA has also pressed for an urgent parliamentary debate on the exam crisis, also proposing July 17 after an earlier request for a July 15 session was rejected by the Speaker.

In its latest request, the PCP said there were still “no signs that the problems are being resolved”, making it even more urgent for the minister to answer questions before MPs.

The party highlighted a series of complaints raised by teachers, including reports that assessors were instructed to grade papers even when scans were incomplete or pages were missing. It also pointed to repeated technical failures and temporary suspensions of the electronic marking platform over the past week, as well as what it described as excessive pressure on teachers.

The PCP further criticised the government’s announcement that teachers correcting exams will  receive overtime pay, arguing that remuneration for overtime work is a legal obligation rather than a special concession.

The parliamentary challenge comes after weeks of disruption to Portugal’s first large-scale digital correction of handwritten secondary school exams. Teachers have reported repeated platform failures, delays in receiving scripts, technical errors and security-related interruptions, prompting the government to postpone the second round of national exams and sparking mounting criticism from opposition parties, teacher unions and parents.

But against the backdrop of the State of the Nation speech, its seriousness amplifies. It has become a beacon of everything that is failing with the AD government: it talks big, fails to deliver – and then appears to blame everyone else for the failure.

Writing in Correio da Manhã today, director general Carlos Rodrigues considers that the “government arrives at the State of the Nation with four problems, one ally and a challenge.

“When it comes to education, health, housing and the cost of living, the country feels we are worse off with (the prime minister, Luís) Montenegro.

“In health, the emergency plans don’t work, and the idea that A&E departments, emergency services and waiting lists are on the brink of chaos amplifies.

“With regard to education, there is nothing more to say. The minister squandered the credibility he carried into office, and nothing suggests he is any closer to resolving the chaos surrounding the exams. Families will not forgive an irreparable failure.

“If one looks at housing, the lack of homes, their prices out of the range of the middle class, the marginalisation of young people who dream of leaving their parents’ homes, the pessimism increases.

“Last but not least, the cost of living is giving families no breathing space for daily budgets. This is now becoming worse thanks to the increases in the costs of fuel.

“Considering these four problems, we see only one ally of this AD minority government: the President of the Republic. (António José) Seguro knows the importance of stability, and will do everything to ensure that no-one has any excuses or pretexts. But the worst of all is what is looming on the horizon…”

And that, says Rodrigues, is internal wars within the coalition (particularly within the party of the ruling PSD) where certain forces are not at all convinced of the prime minister’s strategy.

It will be a ‘hot week’.

Source: LUSA/ Correio da Manhã