As part of the next year’s budget plan, the Ministry of Education and Science will divert EUR 30 million towards teachers’ pay rise starting with January next year, as journalists were told by Minister of Education and Science Anda Čakša.
This means that from 1st of January, 2025, teachers’ pay will increase by 2.6%. Taking into account that as a result of tax changes in 2025, the net salary of teachers will increase by another 2.5% on average, the total salaries of teachers could increase by 5%.
In turn, funding for the new funding model “Programma skolā” will still be sought. As reported, in order to implement the new model from the 1st of September, 2025, the government will have to find an additional EUR 35.5 million, but in 2026 and annually thereafter – EUR 106.5 million.
At the extraordinary meeting of the government a week ago, a report on priority measures to be included in the draft state budget law was reviewed. It states that EUR 30 million of funding is provided annually for the remuneration of teachers working in the general education sector.
At the same time, as an educational policy maker in cooperation with other industry ministries, municipalities and industry social partners, it is possible to agree on the best way to redirect funding from 2025. This means that the planned EUR 30 million could also be allocated for the implementation of the new funding model “Programma skolā”.
Previously, Čakša as an industry minister vowed to stand up for the next step of the salary schedule. However, over the weekend, the politician announced that she hopes to reach an agreement by the National Tripartite Cooperation Council meeting to redirect funding to the new model. This will even out the inequality in the remuneration of teachers in different regions of Latvia, because at the moment the amount of the target grant depends on demographic trends in the municipality.
At the beginning of the year, the lowest hourly rate of pre-school, general education and vocational education teachers increased to EUR 9.54.