By Martin Banks - 10th October 2011
I sincerely admire our teachers
Androulla Vassiliou
A new European commission report says that in all but a handful of member states, teachers' salaries are not attractive.
The executive says that in almost all European countries, gross basic salaries for teachers entering the profession are lower than national GDP per capita.
It goes on to say that their pay "will not even double" over the course of their working lifetime, except in a handful of member states.
These are the main findings of a report which compares the salaries of public-sector teachers and school heads in all member states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey.
The data, based on the 2009/10 school year, covers pre-primary to upper secondary education.
Where figures are available, and taking both salary levels and allowances into account, the best paid teachers in the EU are in Luxembourg, Denmark and Austria.
Of the six million teachers currently employed in the member states, the least well-paid are in Bulgaria and Romania.
The report was compiled by the commission's Eurydice network.
Responding to its findings, Androulla Vassiliou, commissioner for education, culture, multilingualism and youth, said, "I sincerely admire our teachers, who make a vital contribution to children's lives and our society.
"They mould our future talent and are at the heart of the commission's efforts to help member states improve the quality of their education and training systems.
"We need to encourage the very best graduates to join and stay in the teaching profession. Salaries and working conditions are a priority if we are to attract and keep the best teachers."
The report shows that at the beginning of their careers, teachers' gross basic salaries are lower than national GDP per capita in all countries with the exception of Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Only in three countries (Cyprus, Portugal and Romania) is it possible for teachers to double their basic salaries in the course of their career. However, even in these countries, it takes more than 20 years to progress to the top salary scale.
A wide range of allowances are available in most European countries, in addition to basic salaries, but only half of the countries award specific allowances for further professional qualification and excellence in teaching.
Actual teacher salaries, including add-ons, are close to the top of the pay scale in many countries.
This is due to an ageing teacher population and the allowances that teachers may receive, says the report.
In Denmark (€61,804), Greece (€22,817), Finland (€44,775) and England (€35,580), teachers' take-home pay is on average higher than the top pay scale due to these allowances.
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