For the purpose of social and professional consultation, the Ministry of the Interior (BM) published on the government's website on Thursday the draft legislation on further salary increases for teachers and issues affecting public education.

On Wednesday, Zoltán Maruzsa, the State Secretary for Public Education of the Ministry of the Interior, personally informed the teachers' unions and the leaders of the National Faculty of Pedagogy about the start of the consultation.

An agreement was reached between the interest representatives and the government on the schedule of the negotiations, the goal is for the parties to agree on as many issues as possible, the announcement states.

In the draft legislation published for consultation, the ministry proposes further salary increases for teachers, simplification of the teachers' promotion system and performance evaluation system, as well as the creation of a public education employment relationship, they pointed out.

According to the information, one of the draft amendments to the law for further salary increases for teachers is aimed at amending the budget law and enshrining the Hungarian government's commitments into law, so that salary increases can continue even in the difficult situation caused by the war and sanctions.

The government was able to anticipate a 10 percent teacher salary increase from January, but as soon as Brussels pays the EU funds due to Hungary, the largest teacher salary increase since the regime change may follow, this year's salary increase will be at least 21 percent retroactive to January.

After that, compared to the 2021 wage level, the wage increase may be 25 percent in 2024 and 29-30 percent in 2025. The goal is for the average salary of teachers to reach 80 percent of the average graduate salary by 2025.

In addition to the wage increase, negotiations will also begin on other issues affecting public education and teachers, they indicated. In this regard, the Ministry of the Interior formulated its proposals keeping in mind the results of the online consultation with teachers.

At the public education online consultation, the vast majority of teachers supported the fact that in the event of a further salary increase, it should be a priority benefit aspect if a teacher works in a disadvantaged area or with a higher proportion of cumulatively disadvantaged children. A significant majority also agreed that the remuneration of teachers should take performance into account even more in the future, they wrote.

They emphasized: the ministry also proposes to change the teacher promotion system. According to the plans, it will be possible to get to a grade with a higher salary in a significantly shorter time than before.

In order to increase the respectability of the teacher's career, the government plans to introduce the public education employment relationship, which is a form of employment that is adapted to the specifics of the operation of public education and prioritizes performance instead of age and length of service.

As part of this, it is proposed to introduce a new salary band system, prioritize performance-based classification, optimize advancement and ensure more basic freedom, the announcement states.

Source: Magyar Hírlap

Picture: Tamás Purger