Survey: Hungarian teachers among the least well-paid in the EU

A recent report by Eurydice reveals saddening news about Hungarian teachers’ salaries and allowances. Hungarian teachers earn only a fraction of what their Western European colleagues make.

Eurydice provides European-level analyses and information which will assist the decision making of those responsible for education systems and policies in Europe. Eurydice recently published its newest report about teachers’ and school heads’ salaries and allowances.

This report analyses the statutory salaries of teachers and school heads in 42 European education systems in 2017/18. The report shows the main changes in statutory salaries over the last three years and compares the average actual salaries of teachers (including allowances and other additional payments) with the per capita GDP and with the earnings of other tertiary-educated workers.

The report’s results for Hungary are shocking. Especially if we compare our numbers to the EU average. Hvg reports that

the starting salary of a teacher in Hungary is around Gross 600 Euros per month, and it usually takes 42 years to earn the maximum salary, which is around Gross 1,200 Euros per month. A starting teacher’s salary in Lichtenstein is around Gross 7,200 Euros, and the EU average in terms of how much time it takes to earn the top salary for teachers is around 20 years.

The main findings

In 2017/18, teachers’ statutory salaries increased in most education systems, due to inflation or to the increase in the cost of living.
The salaries of beginner teachers increased particularly high in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and Iceland.
The salaries of beginner teachers obviously increase during their career, but the rate of increase and the timing vary significantly across European countries. Unfortunately, Hungary finished at the bottom in this regard, too.
We are also one of the leading countries in terms of the biggest differences in statutory salaries between teachers and school heads. In Hungary, the maximum salary of a qualified school head is more than 50% higher than the top salary of a teacher with the minimum qualification.
The lowest statutory salaries are found in countries with the lowest GDP per capita: Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Albania, and Serbia. Salaries were actually lower than the GDP per capita in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and Norway, as well as in Latvia, Hungary and Iceland, while the highest salaries are found in countries with a high GDP per capita: Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

Featured image: Illustration/Pixabay

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