More than 70% of public school teachers in Acre are temporary: ‘Living in uncertainty’ | Acre

The number of temporary teachers in Acre represents 75% of the staff and permanent teachers only 23%. Pedagogy professor Daniel Freire, 35 years old, is one of those employees who live in uncertainty, waiting for his contract to be renewed after its end and he can return to the classroom.

The State Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sports (SEE) said it is awaiting the finalization of the bidding procedures to open a new public competition for permanent staff. The ministry disputes the data presented by Todos pela Educação and says that in Acre 42.18% of teachers are permanent and 57.81% temporary. (Check the full note below).

Daniel Freire has worked for almost ten years as a temporary employee in both state and municipal public schools.

“Each contract that ends leaves us in despair because we have to study and pass another one. It happens that many provisional candidates lose their place because they don’t pass the exam due to lack of time to study. As our salary isn’t the best, it’s desperate because With each contract that ends, we are uncertain whether or not we will get another one”, he lamented.

Freire is on his third temporary contract and eagerly awaits the announcement of an effective competition for the position of pedagogy professor.

“It’s living in uncertainty and not to mention that we earn much less than the permanent salary. Some pedagogy teachers have already completed specializations precisely because there is no permanent competition for the position. We ask in the classroom, for example, who wants to be a teacher and even our students don’t want to be. It’s a profession that is being devalued by public authorities and by society”, he criticized.

The research is from Todos pela Educação, a civil society organization that aims to change the quality of Basic Education in Brazil, and published this Thursday (25).

Across Brazil, the number of certified teachers in state education networks fell to the lowest level in ten years, while the total number of temporary teachers grew significantly between 2013 and 2023.

The research outlines the scenario of these hirings and addresses the potential impacts on education. The study says that hiring temporary teachers is not illegal, but it should be used in an exceptional way and that is not what was observed in the data.

The study also reinforces the need to pay attention to the quality of the selection processes used. These processes for hiring temporary teachers in Brazil are, in general terms, simplified.

According to the data, theoretical and practical tests are infrequent in the selection of temporary teachers and the main criteria used are title and years of teaching experience, which privileges only the most experienced teachers and does not evaluate practice and knowledge. pedagogical.

The research also shows that the difference between the salary of a temporary teacher and the starting salary of a permanent teacher is R$3.70 per hour/class, which may be a reason for choosing to hire.

There is also the observation that the contract period for temporary teachers is only 24 months, that is, teachers have to go through a constant selection process every 2 years and, in many cases, they are not paid in the interval between contracts.

The study suggests that longer contracts be signed, with annual performance evaluations, which may be a more interesting way to guarantee stability and minimum quality.

The State Department of Education, Culture and Sports (SEE) awaits the finalization of the bidding procedures to open a new Public Tender for permanent staff.

In March 2023, the Government concluded the call for all candidates who were on the reserve register.

As for published data, based on last month’s Education Payroll (March 2024), SEE has 5,190 permanent teachers and 7,114 temporary teachersthat is, a proportion of 42.18% and 57.81%, respectively.

Although we have a higher number of temporary teachers, it does not represent 75% of the total staff of the State Education Network and the State has made a continuous effort to reverse this scenario.