Such statements only quarrel employees of different occupations; and issues raised by teachers are simplified only to their pockets that have become heavier by a few litas or euro. Teachers are mainly asking for the restoration of the size of the pupil basket to the pre-crisis level, which means improving the quality of teaching and permitting proper organization of the learning process, and not closing schools in the regions. Ministry of Education and Science puts more and more demands for schools and students: all have to master the state language perfectly, master the foreign language very good. Moreover, the ministry named another new requirement - to prepare the students for the compulsory mathematics exam. However, no funds or tools are allocated.
The Government believes that teachers do not earn that little and the number of pupils is decreasing. This is another argument that it is high time to increase the reduced pupil basket before there are still schools existing in the townships and rural localities.
After a meeting with trade union representatives of the education system and school principals, the EAPL faction presented their suggestions:
1. Increase the pupils´ basket to 1,083,03 euro as from 1st January 2015;
2. Return the pre-crisis rate of funding of schools of national minorities, i.e. increase national minorities school baskets by 6% to 1,032,44 euros as from 1st January 2015.
The Seimas Committee on Education, Science and Culture discussed the proposals at its meeting on 6th November. According to the Vice-President of the Seimas J. Narkevič , who presented these proposals, committee members rejected the proposals because of the rejections of the Vice-Minister of Education and Science Dr Rimantas Vaitkus who also took part in the meeting. It was decided to consider the possibility of increasing the pupil basket only by 10 litas... There is even no point about thinking about increased salaries for teachers...
Teachers in Lithuania earn twice less than Estonians, three times less than Turks, while teachers in the Nordic countries and in Luxembourg earn 10-20 times more than ours. Is it a problem of only our own country to properly assess the work of teachers?
Rita Tamašunienė
