Primary and secondary school faculties are aging; by 2008, 48 % of
the current teaching force will be eligible for retirement, leaving openings for new teachers.
Now, a large part of
the current teaching force is learning Portuguese alongside the students they are teaching.
«Reducing the student - teacher ratios to the national average would require hiring a total of 135,000 additional teachers beyond
the current teaching force of around 300,000.»
Eliminating the twin evils of tenure and seniority would go a long way to improving
the current teaching force, by ceding more power to individual school districts.