One in four schools have already limited or banned the use of cell phones in schools, according to a national survey, which reveals that this is a more common practice among younger students, up to the 6th year of school.
This is one of the conclusions of the national survey carried out in the last week of September and organized by FNE, to which 128 school boards responded on issues related to the start of the school year and the measures announced by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI ).
When asked about the adoption of measures for the current academic year in relation to the use of mobile phones, 35 participating schools (27% of the total) declared that they had adopted procedures that limit or prohibit their use, says the study, which explains that the options vary depending on the schooling cycles, “being more common between the 1st and 2nd cycles” of education.
With these answers, the researchers conclude that the directors are following the recommendations made by the guardianship at the beginning of the current academic year.
The week classes began, the Government approved a recommendation in the Council of Ministers calling on schools to choose to ban the use and entry of cell phones in 1st and 2nd cycle schools. At the time, only 2% of groups had prohibited the use of ‘smarthphones’.
At the end of the month, the National Education Federation (FNE) and the Association for Training and Research in Education and Work (AFIET) carried out a national survey, to which 128 school boards responded, with “a frequent statement that the issue ( mobile phones) is in an internal process of analysis, consultation and planning”.
“In 24 of the schools, the information is that procedures have not yet been adopted, but in some cases the issue is under consideration”, adds the study to which Lusa had access. In another 35 schools, the use of that equipment was limited or prohibited.
The principals were also asked about the situation of immigrant students, pointing out that the biggest problem was the lack of means and resources to guarantee an adequate supply of Portuguese as a non-native language.
Regarding access to the necessary resources to support all immigrant students, the majority of respondents (74 principals) said they did not have the necessary resources to respond to everyone’s needs.
Lack of teachers and staff
For principals, the biggest problem continues to be the difficulty in ensuring the stability of the teaching staff and the lack of educational support staff.
Bureaucracy and excessive time in accessing and filling out platforms also appear among the problems identified, alongside the negative effects of absences due to sick leave.
Most school directors believe in the ministry’s plan to attract more teachers, but find measures aimed at recruiting retired teachers or those on the verge of retirement unattractive.
Four out of every ten schools have a lack of operational assistants and senior technicians (38.3%), according to the answers given by the directors, who recognize that there is less of a lack of technical assistants, as 44.6% consider it very adequate and extremely adequate.
The survey shows that 76.6% of schools do not have a sufficient number of senior technicians for administrative tasks to support students. And of these, 84.3% of directors say they were not authorized to hire these technicians.
