Ukrainian schools currently have 4 million 90 thousand students. So, there are about eight schoolchildren per teacher. This is a very good indicator that the country can be proud of. After all, even such developed (read: wealthy) states as the USA, Germany, France, Japan, and Canada cannot afford such 'luxury' in the field of general education. In particular, in the USA there are 22 students per schoolteacher, in Germany – 18, in France – 15.
But here, perhaps, the reasons for pride in the world regarding the situation of our teachers and their working conditions end. Considering the quality of school education in the country as a whole, it still leaves much to be desired. This is evidenced by the results of the EIT tests and annual final control checks of knowledge of primary and secondary school students, reports the publication Абзац: актуальные новости.
What is the reason for such low returns on teachers' labor? One can talk a lot about the shortcomings of the organization of the domestic school education system, namely: imperfect subject programs, weak material base of educational institutions, poor motivation of students for academic success, and so on. And yet, in my opinion, the main obstacle is the extremely low interest of the teachers themselves in highly productive work.
The average salary of a teacher in Ukraine is 2529 hryvnias ($311). This is significantly less than wages in transport, construction, or public utilities sectors across the country. And at the same time, it is 19 times less than what a certified teacher earns in the same USA or Germany ($6000 and $5598 per month). In the Republic of South Africa, this figure is $1558, in the Czech Republic – $1367, Slovakia – $1351, Hungary – $1267, India – $1205, Russia – $482, even in Belarus it is $372.
This cannot but affect the prestige of the teaching profession in society. After all, it is no secret that young specialists are in no hurry to go to work in schools. And in rural schools – even less so. Therefore, the shortage of staff is often compensated by retired teachers. Currently, almost every fifth teacher in Ukrainian schools is a pensioner, and every tenth or eleventh is of pre-retirement age. Overcoming the aging problem in the teaching community has not been possible for years, nor has providing teachers with housing. According to the ministry's estimate, at least 10% of the total number of teachers in Ukraine (that is 50,000 people) are in dire need of improved housing conditions. In order for the state to be able to provide them with at least a preferential long-term loan for housing, about 7 billion hryvnias need to be allocated in the state budget.
According to the State Statistics Committee, over the past two years, Ukraine's secondary education system has lost about 700 general education institutions. Meanwhile, the state order for the training of teaching staff has been increasing over the years. So where do these young specialists work?
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