The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior negotiated with civil organizations on Tuesday about the salary increase for teachers. At the Budapest press conference held after the meeting, Bence Rétvári said: the government is committed to raising teachers' wages, increasing teachers' allowances by 75 percent in three years.

The Hungarian wage increase will be the largest construction of its kind in the European Union. They plan to raise it by 21 percent next year, then 25 percent, and then 29 percent, so the average salary of teachers will increase to HUF 770,000, he added. The state secretary called the agreement reached on Monday on the payment of EU funds for the wage increase an important step.

Bence Rétvári responded to the trade unions' proposal on Monday, which called for the establishment of a public education round table, saying that he was surprised by the request, since the public education strategic round table has been operating for years. A wide range of teachers' organizations, trade unions, student organizations, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, employers and maintainers participate in this. At the same time, negotiations are taking place with the strike committees, teachers were consulted about school conditions in summer and autumn.

The state secretary reminded that the government is asking for parents' opinions on the workload of students, on the situation of children with behavioral difficulties, and on developments outside of school hours. The questionnaire was returned by 120,000 parents.

Katalin Kardosné Gyurkó, on behalf of the National Association of Large Families, said: it is recommended that the salary increase be adjusted to performance, not primarily to age, because it is difficult for beginning teachers to start a family with their salary.

Nóra Király, the president of the Club of Young Families, stated that a social cooperation is necessary in order to succeed in progressing in the appreciation of teachers. Fruzsina Skrabski, leader of the Three Princes, Three Princesses movement, said that the Family-Friendly Public Education Institution award was founded.

Tünde Főrész, head of the Mária Kopp Institute for Population and Families, called the government's education questionnaire a unique initiative and encouraged everyone to fill it out.

Source: MTI

Photo: vasarnap.hu