By the late 1950s Portugal had succeeded in pulling itself out of the educational abyss in which it had long found itself: illiteracy among children of school age virtually disappeared.

After 1974 the number of basic and secondary schools as well as of higher education institutions, increased until the end of the century, sometimes without the necessary allocation of quality material and qualified human resources.

However the higher-education rate in the country still remains the lowest in the European Union, this rate was around 7% in 2003 (Source: OECD (2003) Education at a Glance and OECD Statistical Compendium), and improved to 11% in 2007 - as compared to Slovakia's and Slovenia's around 16%; Germany's, Estonia, Spain's and Ireland's 28%; or Belgium's, Netherlands', Denmark's, Finland's, Cyprus's and UK's, over 30% (Source: EuroStat, March 2007).

[8] The Portuguese Ministry of Education announced a 2010 report published by its office for educational evaluation GAVE (Gabinete de Avaliação do Ministério da Educação) which criticized the results of PISA 2009 report and claimed that the average Portuguese teenage student had profound handicaps in terms of expression, communication and logic, as well as a low performance when asked to solve problems.

Many were on verge of bankruptcy and were forced to increase its admissions and tuition fees as the budget dwindled and the staff members and bonuses were being reduced.

In addition, children who reach the age of six between 16 September and 31 December may be authorized to attend the first stage of education, provided a request is submitted by their parents or guardians to the school nearest to their residence (or place of work) during the annual enrolment period.

The access to higher education is made through a national online process, where the students enter the university by priority based on their grades.

In this type of course the students spend most of their time in practical, technological, technical and artistic qualification, which allows the development of specific skills indispensable to an occupation.

These courses function under the regulation of the Ministry of Education, although under the direct initiative and responsibility of civil society institutions, such as municipalities, enterprises, trade unions, etc.

The latter are work-oriented, oriented to confer a level III professional certificate; - The courses of initial qualification can be promoted by schools lecturing the third cycle of mandatory education.

Degrees in some fields such as medicine, law, natural sciences, economics, psychology or veterinary are only offered in the university system.

The other fields, including engineering, technology, management, education, agriculture, sports, or humanities are found both in university and polytechnic systems.

It was an unusual process in that it was loosely structured and driven by the 45 countries participating in it in cooperation with a number of international organisations, including the Council of Europe.

Since its field application in 2006 it has been widely contested by students (many lost an academic year with the change), and several universities had disrepute the concept by introducing integrated master's degrees in several courses.

When Portugal adhered to the Bologna process (implemented in 2006 - 2007), a political decision was taken to maintain the names of some older degrees, but with new significances.

Students must have studied the subjects for which they are entering to be prepared for the entrance exams, but they are not required to have previously specialised in any specific area at the secondary school.

For the public institutions the exam scores count for the final evaluation, which includes the secondary school average marks.

In some cases, those entering polytechnics or nursing and health technologies schools, should have some previous professional qualification and preference will be given to applicants from the catchment area of the institution concerned.

Studies are sanctioned by a Licenciado em Ensino or a Licenciatura - Ramo de Formação Educacional, according to the issuing institution.

This secondary schools ranking has been released every year in Portugal, and is based on the student's average grades in the National Examinations which are used for higher education admission.

Some Portuguese employers and families are of the opinion that the existence of private education institutions, where accessibility is based primarily on ability to pay, is not as fair as the public system and could gloom the meritocracy concept, leading to easier entrance criteria and lower teaching standards.

On the other side there are some people who prefer to attend private institutions because they don't trust in the public educational infrastructure they have near their residential area.

In May 2006, a television program was broadcast in RTP 1, titled Quando a violência vai à escola (When violence goes to school) by journalist Mafalda Gameiro.

Escola Segura[27][28] provides a safety program to 11 thousand schools, it involves 600 police officers a day, 300 cars and 160 motorbikes.

Escola da APEL is a non profit private Catholic School, founded 40 years ago in Funchal, with an excellent reputation.

Education has been a subject of controversy in Portugal due to a number of erratic policies and the state of flux it has experienced by several long periods, particularly between the carnation revolution coup of 1974 to the Bologna process of 2007.

In the following decades after their creation in the 1970s and 1980s, the polytechnic institutions didn't assume their specific role as tertiary education professional schools, which were created to award practical diplomas in more technical or basic fields.

Criteria ambiguity and the general lower standards in polytechnic higher education and admission, were fiercely criticised by education personalities like university rectors, regarding issues like the lack of admission exams in mathematics for polytechnic engineering applicants, and the proliferation of administration and management courses everywhere, many without a proper curriculum in mathematics, statistics and economics-related disciplines.

[33] In March 2008, a mega-protest hit many Portuguese cities along the country, joining over 85,000 basic and secondary school teachers from all the country in the capital city of Lisbon (March 8), criticizing the Portuguese Minister of Education Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues (XVII Governo Constitucional headed by PM José Sócrates) and her new policies, including a new system of teacher's evaluation.

Some critics alleged this policy was an effort to make up the poor national statistical indicators on education, with little impact on the quality of the work force's qualification of Portugal in the European Union context.