The Ministry of Finance warned of the risk of salary reform in schools: UAH 200 billion is needed

The Ministry of Finance considers it too expensive the idea of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Education Committee Serhiy Babak to increase the salary of teachers to the level of three minimum wages starting from September 2026. About said deputy Minister Roman Yermolychev at a committee meeting on Friday.

According to him, the government has already provided 48 billion hryvnias of additional funds for education in 2026: 41 billion for secondary school and 7 billion for higher education.

The proposals of the relevant committee will require another UAH 17.7 billion in additional spending for September-December.

"And now the main problem is that in order to maintain these trends, 2027 needs to be calculated for the whole year, not just four months. The additional need for funds for 2027 in addition to what is already available in 2026 is UAH 92.6 billion," the Minister said.

He predicted that similar demands would arise in other public sector sectors.

The Ministry of Finance estimates that about UAH 100 billion more is needed to maintain comparable salaries in healthcare, social protection and culture.

"That's why I am talking about the risk of 2027: we cannot afford to increase spending by UAH 200 billion. And this is not to mention social expenditures, pensions – only wages," he said.

A representative of the teachers' union said that as a result, teachers may be left without a higher salary, but with an increased workload and a fixed-term contract, as Babak insists.

The discussion will continue on Tuesday, November 25.

• Article 61 of the Law of Ukraine "On Education", which stipulates that the minimum official salary of a pedagogical employee must be at least three times the minimum wage.