Shocking numbers – Hungarian teachers’ salaries raise concerns

The situation of teachers in Hungary is still not improving, so it is not surprising that in the case of Natural Sciences (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, and Biology), the number of teachers who have retired over the past year is nine times as high as the number of graduates who have become specialised teachers.

Last month, we have already reported that teachers’ salaries are so low that they are likely to strike, and many of them have left their profession because of their low income. Based on the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, the number of unoccupied positions in the education sector increased by 38% over the past year.

According to the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, the gross average wages rose by 8.1% from a year earlier to HUF 433,700 (~EUR 1,209) in July 2021. The starting salary for graduates is twice as much as in the case of non-graduates, while the average graduate salary is 80% higher than the aggregate average salary. The average salary of teachers, however, even including the extras, is only 60% of the average salaries, writes Telex. This means that

currently, graduates who are not teachers earn on average three times as much as teachers with a university degree in Hungary.

Average salary in Hungary to reach EUR 1,415 by next year?!

A survey conducted by Pénzcentrum at the beginning of the year revealed that nurses, social workers, and teachers rank the highest on the list of the most underpaid professions. Although the coronavirus pandemic and the introduction of distance learning showed that, besides healthcare workers, teachers are arguably more important members of our society, who have the ability to shape children’s lives. Yet, according to the survey, their wages do not reflect their social value.

If we examine the career model of different professions, according to the current pay scale for doctors, a junior doctor earns more than a teacher at the end of the career model.

Financial Times: Corvinus Budapest in top 100 management schools of the world!

This shows a clear deviation from the teacher career model introduced in 2013. The root of the problem is that the projection base of the salaries of teachers with a university degree was set in 2014, taking into account the minimum wage in 2014, which is HUF 101,500 (~EUR 282). Currently, the minimum wage is HUF 167,000 (~EUR 464), which means that if the teachers’ salaries had been set to the current minimum wage, it would be 1.67 times higher.

Yesterday, PM Viktor Orbán announced on Kossuth Rádió that the government has decided to increase the wages of nurses by 21% and the wages of nursery workers and social workers by 20% in January.

Teachers can also expect a 10% salary increase next year, and a more serious raise may come in 2023,

writes Portfolio.

Read alsoHungary’s leading university has established a space science centre

Source: ksh.hu, telex.hu, portfolio.hu, penzcentrum.hu