Education minister voices support for 10 percent pay increase for teachers

Education minister Kateřina Valachová has backed a demand by teaching unions for a hike in wages of 10 percent. Valachová said the increase was large but legitimate given the level of teachers’pay and the difficulty in finding qualified and motivated staff. The minister said she would begin talks with the minister of finance, Andrej Babiš, about inserting the raise in the budget for 2017 and 2018. The cost of a 10 percent rise would be around 13 billion crowns a year. Average teachers’wages are currently around 26,000 crowns a month, some of the lowest for university graduates across all professions in the country.

Author: Chris Johnstone