Reused Schoolbooks Cut Back-to-School Costs for Foreign Families in Portugal

Moving to Portugal with school-age children often means mastering an unfamiliar education system before the first bell rings. This year’s textbook policy offers a welcome surprise: the majority of pupils from 5.º to 12.º ano will collect their books without paying a cent — and, in many cases, without cutting down a single additional tree. The government has confirmed that two-thirds of all secondary-level textbooks are now cleared for reuse, trimming costs for families and for the state while nudging the country closer to its climate targets.

A cash-saving rule foreigners can’t ignore

For parents paying rent in Lisbon or house-hunting in the Algarve, school expenses can feel like an afterthought — until August arrives. The Education Ministry’s latest figures show 66.76% of textbooks assigned to years 5 through 12 will re-enter classrooms in 2025/26 instead of being replaced. Because the public system already funds one set of books per child, this high reuse rate means most immigrant families will avoid the hidden bill that comes with lost or damaged copies at the end of the year. The rule is simple: hand the books back in good condition and the next set remains free.

Decoding the MEGA voucher platform

If you are new to Portugal, the textbook exchange runs through the MEGA – Manuais Escolares Gratuitos platform at www.manuaisescolares.pt. In late July the site begins dropping digital vouchers directly into each child’s profile. A green stamp signals a pristine, new manual to be picked up at a participating bookstore, while a blue stamp means the title must be collected — at no cost — from the school itself because a previously loved copy is waiting on the shelf. Parents who miss the notification risk long queues on the first day of term, so set phone alerts early.

The fine print on ‘good condition’

Portugal’s rules sound looser than they are. A reused book must be wrapped in clear plastic, free of ball-point scribbles and intact from cover to spine. Peel-off geometry stickers and neon highlighter stains are grounds for rejection, and schools are not shy about enforcing the standard. The penalty for returning a ruined manual is immediate: the child forfeits eligibility for next year’s free set, forcing families to buy replacements out of pocket. Exercise books and workbooks are exempt — they can be written in and will never be reclaimed — but they are also an extra cost most households underestimate.

Why younger pupils get brand-new books

Parents coming from systems that recycle everything often raise eyebrows when they learn that children in years 1 to 4 receive fresh copies and do not have to bring them back. The ministry defends the carve-out by arguing that early-primary learners benefit pedagogically from colouring, circling and note-taking directly on the page, practices that would doom a volume to the recycling bin after a single year. The decision also follows a poor reuse record in those grades: barely 20% of 1.º-ciclo books survived the hand-me-down test before the rule changed in 2024.

Counting the euros and the carbon

Textbooks are not cheap. The government has earmarked €96 M for the 2025/26 cycle, yet auditors note that every successful hand-back lowers the bill in the following year and keeps paper out of landfills. Independent consumer group DECO says the scheme could already be shaving hundreds of euros from a typical family’s annual back-to-school budget, although precise numbers vary by course selection at upper-secondary level. For freshly arrived expats, the message is clear: respecting the reuse guidelines translates into real savings the moment you file your Portuguese tax return.

Publishers pivot toward digital — cautiously

Lisbon’s policy shift has put traditional publishers on alert. While the national press has floated the idea of mandatory digital textbooks within the decade, the Association of Publishers and Booksellers worries about unit sales and about Sweden’s recent U-turn away from screens in the classroom. In the interim, the government has injected €24 M into pilot licences for e-books, allowing teachers in select schools to choose between pixels and paper. Families should watch this space; a hybrid model is practically guaranteed.

Your August checklist

By mid-August most schools publish classroom lists. Foreign parents should log into MEGA weekly, collect vouchers as soon as they drop, visit the assigned bookstore early for new titles, and schedule the school pickup for reusable ones before the rush. Keep the plastic covers that the school hands out, because replacing a damaged book can cost upwards of €40. Finally, remind your teens that doodling on the front cover may be an act of self-expression, but in Portugal it can also be an expensive souvenir.

Article by our newsroom for the international community living in Portugal.