The measures were announced by Costa in parliament in his speech opening the debate on the programme of the new government that was sworn in on Saturday by Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

"We will launch an early detection system in preschool for literacy and numeracy problems,” Costa said. “And we will strengthen the National Program for the Promotion of School Success, defining an integrated strategy of action on mathematics learning."

On higher education, the prime minister said that it is the government’s intention to sign afresh "in the next week a contract … already agreed with all universities and polytechnics, assuring these institutions a stable funding outlook for the parliament."

Costa also restated the government’s commitment to increase the number of beds in student residences by 12,000, from the existing 15,000, which he said is “essential for no one to stop studying for economic reasons.”

According to Costa, in higher education "the last four years [under his Socialist government] have seen a remarkable 21% increase in the number of students enrolled."

Portugal has gone to 50% of 20-year-olds attending higher education, from 40% previously, he noted, describing this as “a strong impetus for achieving the European level of 60% in 2030.”

To achieve this goal, among other measures, the prime minister said that the National Programme to Promote School Success would be given a boost, with “an integrated strategy of action on mathematics learning”.

According to Costa, problems with maths is one of the main causes of pupils dropping out of school.