Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
In Portugal, the official entrance age to pre-primary education is 3 years old. The legal frameworks guarantee 2 years of free pre-primary education, none of these years being compulsory. In 2022, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes was 96.22% (UIS).
Governance
Public financial support for pre-school establishments is the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS) and local authorities. In the public network, pre-school education is fully provided by the state.
Tuition-free status
Law No. 22 of 2025 established universal free pre-primary education from the age of 3.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
The main mechanism for transferring funds from the central government to the local level in Portugal is the Fund for Financing Decentralisation (Fundo de Financiamento da Descentralização), which includes a specific sector dedicated to education. According to Law No. 21/2019, municipalities must ensure “territorial equity and inter-municipal and inter-regional solidarity in the planning of education and training offers and in the allocation of public resources, within the framework of correcting local and regional inequalities and asymmetries.”
2. Education resources to institutions
In the public network, pre-school education is fully provided by the state. Municipalities receive funds to be allocated to schools, since these are increasingly gaining responsibilities in the framework of the decentralisation process, namely regarding non-teaching staff, school meals, transportation, extra-curricular activities and maintenance of the buildings.
In the private solidarity network, which includes the Private Institutions of Social Solidarity, the Misericórdias and the Mutualidades, the State provides financial support for the functioning of the institutions, ensuring the payment of the costs of the educational component and the promotion of the pedagogical quality of the services to be provided, as well as participating in the costs regarding family support.
In the private network, which includes private and cooperative establishments, funding is based on the monthly fees paid by families, who may benefit from financial support, in the form of family support development contracts, in accordance with their income bracket.
Institutions do not receive additional funds aimed at promoting equity for specific groups.
3. Education resources to students and families
Families can benefit from the school social action (Ação Social Escolar - ASE) from pre-primary education. The management of funds allocated to the school social action, through the Fund for Financing Decentralisation, is the responsibility of municipalities. These guarantee financial support to families, namely through subsidising of school meals, measures to guarantee full-time schooling (extra-curricular activities) and economic support for study visits.
School meals are subsidised in accordance with the support provided under the school social action (ASE) scheme, determined according to the family allowance bracket that the household is in (Bracket A – free; Bracket B – 50% of the cost of the meal).
The extended timetable in pre-primary education, guaranteed under the Animation and Family Support Activities in Pre-School Education (AAAF), aims to support families by implementing a timetable that is compatible with their needs, ensuring that children are accompanied before and/or after the daily period of educational activities and during school breaks.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
As of 2024, all children up to the age of 3 enrolled in daycare are entitled to free attendance, regardless of the type of provider (Ordinance no. 426/2023 and Ordinance no. 158/2024/1). Law 22/2025 mandates the universality of pre-school education for children from the age of 3, which determines that it is the state's responsibility to guarantee the existence of a network that allows all children from the age of 3 to access and attend this level of education.
This profile was reviewed by Pedro Luis Silva, Professor.
