Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science Andriy Butenko states that a draft bill to reform the system for determining and increasing teachers' salaries will be developed within six months, and he also expects that it will not require an increase in teachers' weekly workload.
"We will hold the necessary consultations and discussions with labor unions. I wasn't involved in the negotiations when the previous bills were being drafted. It's difficult for me to comment on them, although I am generally familiar with the ones you're referring to, as well as a few others. But, as they say, every issue needs to be considered in detail, rather than through general, broad approaches," Butenko told reporters during the all-Ukrainian conference "Serpneva-2026 – Education is everyone's business in Kyiv" on Tuesday, responding to a question from Interfax-Ukraine regarding the timeline and format of changes to the system for determining and increasing teachers' salaries.
In particular, the agency asked whether the Ministry of Education would apply the following approaches in the upcoming reform: increasing teachers' weekly workload from 18 to 22 hours; switching from permanent contracts to fixed-term contracts; and changing the structure of allowances.
Regarding allowances, the minister noted that there are currently about 80 different types; some of them are basic and make obvious sense – such as allowances for prestige, for serving as a homeroom teacher, and for grading written assignments – but there are also some that are less effective and less transparent.
"I would still raise the issue of optimizing them so that they are transparent in the calculation of salaries," he said.
Regarding changes in approaches to teachers' pay, Butenko said there are various models.
"This includes changing the very principle of salary calculation and moving away from the pay scale. There is also the approach you indirectly mentioned – one that labor unions are protesting –which involves recalculating salaries based on a workload ranging from 18 to 22-24 hours. I still hope that we have the necessary groundwork and models that will allow us, without redistributing workloads, to propose such a solution to the government," the minister said.
When asked when the reform might be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration, Butenko said that since this bill is not solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Education but must be coordinated, in particular, with the Ministry of Finance, it is difficult to say for certain.
"We will work as quickly as possible, because it is important for us not just to submit a bill, but to ensure that it is workable, can be adopted by parliament, and has the necessary funding. I think that in about six months we'll have a draft ready that will allow us to begin consultations," he said.
As previously reported, the Government's Action Plan for 2026-2027 tasks the Ministry of Education and Science with submitting a bill to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding the revision of the system for determining and increasing teachers' salaries.
