Portuguese teachers protest over evaluation plans

Portuguese teachers have taken to the streets across the country to protest against a new teacher evaluation plan. Unions argue the project will result in more paperwork and less teaching. They say 90 percent of teachers took part in today’s one-day strike. One teacher said: “Public schools have become completely bureaucratic. We’ve stopped being teachers and now we’re just bureaucrats.” The unions want the government to withdraw the evaluation plan which came into force after the summer and negotiate a new one. The government says it is convinced a new system is needed to improve standards, and it is only willing to modify certain elements.

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tags: Demonstration, education, Portugal