Teachers’ pay is almost doubling and the scale of the rise is unprecedented in Hungary, a government official said on Wednesday.
From Jan 1, teachers’ wages have been raised by 32.2 percent, and a further rise of 21 percent is scheduled from next year, Bence Retvari, the interior ministry’s parliamentary state secretary, told a press conference, adding that their salaries have risen by 10 percent each year over the past two years.
Over the space of four years, their pay will have risen by more than 93 percent during a single parliamentary cycle.
Domestic and EU funding has paid for the wage increase, with about 8 percent of EU funds and the rest used for this purpose until 2030, Retvari said, adding that the EU component got the ball rolling sooner.
The government considers it important to show that teachers are recognised socially, morally, and financially, he said.
New career rules adopted by MPs also encourage young people to choose the teaching profession as it will be possible to earn a relatively high salary “even at a young age”, he said.
