Temporary teacher surpasses permanent teacher in state schools – 02/23/2024 – Education

More than half of the teachers who work in state schools in Brazil are hired on a temporary basis, that is, with no guarantee of stability and no possibility of career progression. The data was released this Thursday (22) during the presentation of the 2023 School Census, by the Ministry of Education.

The survey shows that the country’s state education networks have 690,406 teachers, 51.6% of whom are hired on a temporary basis. Teachers hired through competition, and therefore permanent in their positions, are only 46.5% of the total.

It is the first time that Inep (National Institute of Educational Studies and Research), the ministry body responsible for the census, has gathered information on the type of hiring of basic education teachers.

Experts assess that this type of hiring causes teachers to work in more precarious conditions, which, consequently, affects the educational results of students.

State networks are responsible for 30% of basic education enrollments in the country. In secondary education, the stage with the worst quality indicators in Brazil, they concentrate 83.6% of students.

The data shows that most state education networks already work with more temporary teachers than permanent ones. The situation occurs in 15 of the 27 federation units.

Temporary hiring is provided for in national legislation and was authorized so that education networks could have professionals available to work in schools when employees have to leave for medical reasons or to take on other positions in education.

The form of hiring that should be the exception has become the majority in almost all state networks in the country. Minas Gerais is the state with the lowest percentage of certified teachers, just 19.2%.

Tocantins, Acre, Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul also have less than a third of teachers effectively hired.

“It is an excessively high and disproportionate number of temporary professionals, working in a position in which stability and predictability are determining factors for good work. Instability in hiring brings enormous pedagogical losses”, says Márcia Jacomini, professor at Unifesp.

State networks have different deadlines for hiring temporary workers. Some hire temps for just one year, others for two or three years. Jacomini explains that, regardless of time, when these contracts end, schools suffer from the change or absence of professionals.

“It is not possible to carry out pedagogical work consistently if the teaching staff changes every year. Education needs stability, predictability, it is necessary to assemble a trustworthy and well-aligned team. If there is no stability among professionals, the school is subject to change every year”, he says.

With the largest education network in the country, the state of São Paulo has more than 162 thousand teachers, 50.7% of whom are on temporary contracts. This year, classes began with thousands of temporary teachers out of work after changes to the class assignment process.

While these professionals are out of work, students were also harmed as they did not have a teacher to teach all the classes planned.

In addition to the instability regarding job security, temporary workers are also not included in state governments’ career plans. In other words, they do not have the chance to progress and, consequently, achieve higher salaries.

“It’s a cheaper way of hiring, which is why states prefer to have more temporary employees. But this results in devaluation, causing good professionals to abandon their teaching careers”, says Jacomini.

Haroldo Rocha, coordinator of the Teaching Profession movement, believes that the country needs better regulation for temporary teachers. Although this type of contract is provided for by law, there is no general rule regarding the contracting time or rights that must be guaranteed.

“The country needs good federal legislation to regulate this issue and ensure that these professionals, who are so important for education, have access to fundamental rights, such as sick leave and vacations,” he says.

He also highlights that temporary professionals are important for the functioning of schools, but says that more adequate planning is needed to consider different types of hiring.

“The states need to have better planning, they cannot go years without hiring staff and then hold a competition to select a multitude of teachers. Because, in addition to leaving schools without permanent professionals, they end up carrying out selection processes that will not select the best teachers “, he explains.

The government of São Paulo, for example, spent ten years without hiring employees. Last year, after facing a teacher shortage crisis, it held a competition with the expectation of recruiting 15 thousand teachers. Their hiring, however, is only scheduled for 2025.