Education committee urges government to raise teachers' salaries to 3 minimum wages

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovations has decided to appeal to the Budget Committee and Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko on the urgency of resolving the issue of increasing teachers’ salaries to three minimum salaries with a simultaneous change in the structure, said the head of the committee, Serhiy Babak.

"Yesterday at the meeting, we considered the issue of the state budget for 2026 before voting in the second reading. The key issue concerned three minimum salaries for teachers. I am very sorry to state the fact that no one from the Ministry of Education at the Cabinet meeting voiced a single argument to defend not another increase in teachers’ salaries, but a reform that teachers have long needed," Babak said on Telegram on Wednesday morning.

He reported that the Cabinet of Ministers did not add amendments to the draft budget on three minimum salaries, despite the fact that the Rada has already supported the amendment on changing the remuneration structure.

"We once again raised the question of why the amendment was not taken into account. The Ministry of Finance justified the refusal by the need for additional funding of over UAH 20 billion. According to our calculations, calculations of common sense and mathematics, UAH13.5 billion are needed to implement this reform, of which 45% are immediately returned to the budget," Babak said.

The head of the committee also noted that after the Ministry of Education planned to increase the official salary of teachers in 2026, which was announced as a 50% increase, in reality it will be only 33%.

"Moreover, this increase is included in a separate budget program, and not in an educational subvention, which means that any teacher who reads the draft budget for 2026 will understand that this is not a salary increase, but another additional payment," he said.

The chairman of the committee also noted that if the salary calculation system is changed, there will be no need to "fight" for raises and additional payments every year, because teachers will have a clear remuneration structure. As reported, on October 6, the chairman of the Council’s Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, Serhiy Babak, announced that he proposes to provide in the state budget for the payment of teachers a monthly salary of at least three minimum salaries from September 1, 2026.