EPM parents raise concern over teacher departures and new hires

The Macau Portuguese School’s (EPM) recent announcement of hiring five new teachers has raised questions about recent departures from the institution, according to Diogo Baptista, president of the General Assembly of the Association of Parents of the Portuguese School in Macau.

The hiring notice was published on the school’s website on Tuesday, seeking candidates to teach math, physics, chemistry, computer science and French to high school students. The application period runs from Aug. 20 to 26.

“What worries us is whether this indicates that classes might not resume as normal,” said Baptista in an interview with TDM. He noted that the hiring comes just days before the new school year is set to begin on Sep. 5.

The association is uncertain if the new hires are related to the departure of 10 teachers, a process initiated by school director Acácio de Brito at the end of May. That process concluded with the reinstating of special licenses for four teachers and a psychologist by the Portuguese Ministry of Education.

It also remains unclear if the 10 replacements Brito mentioned have arrived in Macau. The Portuguese government’s dispatch orders the immediate hiring of any new teachers needed to ensure classes start on time. Brito was unavailable for comment.

Baptista praised the public announcement and selection process, which involves representatives from the school board and parents’ association. “This is the first time that we, as the Association of Parents, have been informed of an announcement posted on the website to recruit in this manner. It is the first time that we have been involved in the recruitment process in this way,” he said.

Experience outside Portugal is also seen as a plus, Batista noted, given Macau’s specific cultural context and student body, which is not primarily made up of native Portuguese speakers. Victoria Chan