OECD: Hungarian teachers are in the worst situation in the EU

According to a recent report, Hungarian teachers earn 30% less than those people who work in a different area with a university degree. With this data, Hungary is the only country on the continent where a teacher needs to work the hardest and for the longest period to earn a reasonable salary.



Portfólió reported that there is no other country with such a huge problem and difference regarding the situation and financial status of teachers. The fresh OECD report revealed that kindergarten and secondary school teachers in Hungary earn 61% of the average salary of a formal university student working in a different area. In grammar schools, this percentage is 66%, but in some schools, it can even be 70%.

With this data, the situation is only worse in the Czech Republic and the United States, making Hungary the third country with the worst salary for teachers.

In Hungary, the salary of teachers is highly influenced by age, education, experience, and the type of educational institution. OECD writes that teachers from kindergartens and primary schools earn $27,000/year, the same goes for teachers at grammar schools, and it is $28,000 for those teachers who teach older children (15-18-year-olds) at grammar schools in Hungary. The report emphasises that one teacher needs to work and compete in the labour market for 42 years to reach a reasonable amount of salary. In Australia, New Zealand, or Scotland, this is only 8 years. 

Hungarian teachers usually spend 1,318 hours/year at kindergartens, 652 hours/year in primary schools, and 648 hours/year at grammar schools. 

OECD has stated several times, just like this time, that it might be easier to correct the numbers and to reach the average data of the EU by shortening the summer break of schools as Hungary is one of the few countries where this period is too long in comparison to other states.

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Read alsoOver 1,100 teachers are still wanted for the upcoming school year in Hungary

Source: www.portfolio.hu

2 Comments

  1. Random list:
    High suicide rate, short life expectancy; high corruption; lack of pluralism; poor health care; poor education; strict govt control on almost all universities and media; strong church indoctrination, anti-semitism, Islamophobia; low salaries, highest inflation, devaluating currency; high air pollution, polluted rivers and zero green policies….What else? More ” success story ” for the king of Orbánanas?

  2. I’m a foreign language teacher at a private school and I barely make over that salary. I’m pretty sure my local teacher gets less than half my salary.

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