In Nearly 92% of Communities, Teacher Salaries Increased by 30% or More – Committee Head
A significant rise in teacher salaries has been reported in 91.9% of communities across Ukraine, with increases of 30% or more, according to Sergei Babak, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation.
A substantial increase in the salaries of pedagogical staff in general secondary education institutions has been observed in 91.9% of communities in Ukraine, with increases of 30% or more. This information was disclosed by Sergei Babak, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation, referencing the results of a monitoring report on salary payments for January-February 2026.
Babak noted that the analysis covered 1,463 territorial communities, providing an objective overview of the payment of prestige allowances across the country. Compared to the average prestige allowance in 2025, 593 communities (40.5%) increased the amount of this allowance, 752 communities (51.4%) maintained it at the same level, 106 communities (7.3%) reduced it, and 12 communities (0.8%) did not provide any prestige allowance at all, primarily due to circumstances related to occupation or proximity to the front lines.
"This means that in 91.9% of communities, the real salary has increased by 30% or more (due to the increased prestige allowance), while in 7.3% of communities, the real salary has increased by less than 30%,” Babak stated in his Telegram channel.
The amount of the prestige allowance varies depending on the communities. Specifically, the maximum allowance of 30% is provided by 206 communities (14.1%); 25-30% by 109 communities (7.5%); 20-25% by 433 communities (29.6%); 15-20% by 251 communities (17.2%); 10-15% by 282 communities (19.3%); 5-10% by 84 communities (5.7%); and 86 communities (5.9%) set the allowance at the minimum level of 5%.
Babak also emphasized that the situation regarding the reduction of the prestige allowance, noted in 106 communities, requires special attention. According to him, communities justify these decisions for various reasons, but mostly it is linked to a lack of sufficient financial resources.
"In fact, the lack of sufficient resources is caused by the following factors: the preservation of an unoptimized network of educational institutions, the presence of a significant number of under-enrolled schools and classes with low occupancy, which leads to ineffective use of budget funds and increased costs per student,” the committee head pointed out.
Additionally, he reported that the Secretariat of the committee had requested information about the remaining funds of the educational subsidy in the accounts of communities. It turned out that among the 106 communities that reduced the prestige allowance, 9 communities had the actual opportunity to pay a higher allowance (with balances in their accounts ranging from 0.8 to 1.8 million UAH), but they did not do so.
Specifically, these communities include: the Mezhivska settlement territorial community in Dnipropetrovsk region, the Cherkaska settlement territorial community in Dnipropetrovsk region, the Synelnykivska city territorial community in Dnipropetrovsk region, the Bohuslavska city territorial community in Kyiv region, the Lubenska city territorial community in Poltava region, the Vyrivska rural territorial community in Rivne region, the Berezivska rural territorial community in Rivne region, the Sarnenska city territorial community in Rivne region, and the Khrystynivska city territorial community in Cherkasy region.
It is important to note that the results of the review in the Verkhovna Rada indicate that the state budget for 2026 does not foresee an increase in weekly workloads or the transition of teachers from permanent to temporary contracts. The document stipulates that starting from January 1, 2026, the salaries of pedagogical staff will be increased by 30%, and from September 1, 2026, by an additional 20%.
Thus, from January 1, 2026, teachers of all specialties, educators, assistant educators, organizing teachers, practical psychologists, educators of extracurricular education, and other pedagogical staff of preschool, general secondary, extracurricular, and vocational education institutions will receive a salary increase of 30%.