“Teachers’ wages will be increased by 17%.”
On 12 December, the Parliament of Georgia discussed the 2015 State Budget Plan. During his speech, Minister of Finance of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, elaborated on the issue of teachers’ wages. He stated: “Teachers’ wages will be increased by 17%. In addition, the wages of head teachers will be increased by 31%-34% whilst the wages of leading teachers and mentors will be increased even more.”
FactCheck wroteabout teachers’ wages in 2014 as well. Our latest article describes in detail the mechanism which determines the rules for the distribution of the wages and surpluses for public school teachers.
Teachers’ wages were last increased in 2013. The wages for public school teachers increased from 26% to 59% in terms of the 2013 State Budget. There have been no changes in teachers’ wages in 2014. Teachers were dissatisfied by this and so the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia planned for an increase in teachers’ wages in its 2015 budget. The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia made a statement about the growth of teachers’ wages on 10 November 2014. According to Tamar Sanikidze, teachers will receive increased wages from September 2015.
More specifically, the growth of teachers’ wages will be implemented according to the following mechanism: the basic wage will be increased by 17% at the first stage, amounting to GEL 365.85. The growth will reach 33% for the second stage. In addition, the wages of certified teachers will also increase and the first stage growth of certified teachers at the second career level will be from 31% to 34%. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, the average wage of a teacher will vary from GEL 800 to GEL 1,000 by 2017. They also point out that their plan is absolutely achievable.
It is also interesting to compare the data of the 2014 and 2015 State Budgets of Georgia. The 2014 State Budget allocated GEL 439.2 million for secondary education whilst the 2015 State Budget allocated GEL 497.9 million for the same purposes. The explanatory note of the 2015 State Budget states that in terms of these additional finances, the basic wages of teachers will increase by GEL 50 whilst the wages of teachers of different categories will be increased from GEL 100 to GEL 200. The growth of teachers’ wages is planned in 2016 as well.
Conclusion
The basic wages of teachers will be increased by 17% (GEL 50) from September 2015. The wages of certified teachers will be increased from GEL 100 to GEL 200. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, the average wage of a teacher will vary from GEL 800 to GEL 1,000 by 2017.
Hence, FactCheck concludes that Nodar Khaduri’s statement: “Teachers’ wages will be increased by 17%,” is TRUE.
