The number of young teachers in Ukraine has halved: what is the reason?
14 October 2025 22:02
Over the past decade, the number of teachers teaching school subjects has decreased from 284,000 to 228,000, a drop of almost 20%. Serhiy Babak, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, wrote about this in his Telegram channel, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
He is convinced that today the Ukrainian school is facing a critical challenge – where to get young teachers when the older generation is gradually leaving education. Without a systematic change in approaches to remuneration, in five to ten years the country will have to not only renew its staff, but literally revive the educational system.
Statistics that leave no room for illusions
The parliamentarian uses specific figures in his post: since 2015, the total number of teachers teaching certain subjects has decreased from 284,074 to 227,832, i.e. by 19.7%. Moreover, the number of teachers under the age of 30 has decreased catastrophically: from 48,953 to 22,045, which is more than twice as much.
The number of teachers under the age of 40 also fell from 61,872 to 49,005, or by 20%. The age categories of 51-54, 55-60 remained relatively stable, and the number of teachers over 60 even increased slightly.
From this we can conclude that education is rapidly aging. Young people see no prospects, because the average starting salary of a teacher is at the level of the minimum wage.
Serhiy Babak also emphasizes that today in Ukraine the share of teachers without a category (mostly young professionals) has decreased from 12% to 8%, while the number of teachers with the highest category has increased to 47%.
“There is only one conclusion: the salary policy should stimulate young people, provide them with decent pay and confidence in the future,” writes the head of the specialized committee.
“And this should be done not within 10-20 years, when a young teacher will have time to be disappointed in the profession and leave the educational institution more than once, but right now, from the first day of his or her work. Otherwise, when the older generation leaves school, there will be no one to replace them.
“Three minimum wages” is a start that will give a chance
According to Serhiy Babak, a fair model could be an initial salary of three minimum wages for a young teacher from the first year of work.
Education analysts also agree that a salary increase will help to
- stop the outflow of personnel from schools;
- return young people to pedagogical universities;
- increase the prestige of the profession;
- create a competitive environment in education.
The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation also said that he and his colleagues would be working on amendments to the state budget for 2026 in the next few days. The goal is “a radical increase in teacher salaries.”
Starting at UAH 30 thousand: how the Government is preparing a new system of remuneration in higher education
As early as 2026, teachers of higher education institutions (HEIs) may start receiving 30 thousand hryvnias. The proposal was submitted to the state budget for the next year by Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, together with Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The goal is to retain and return people to higher education and to develop innovation and science through transparent, fair salaries and stable investment in universities.
Our universities are losing people. When salaries are low, teachers either go abroad or are forced to work outside their specialty. Young scientists see no reason to stay, and students do not understand why they should start a scientific career. As a result, we have minimal motivation to teach, poorer quality of education, and “aging” of teams,” explained Hetmantsev.
In his opinion, we need fair and transparent salaries tied to qualifications, rank, and length of service.
How much is proposed to be paid to teachers in 2026
- assistant/teacher – UAH 30,000;
- senior lecturer – UAH 33,000
- associate professor – UAH 36,300
- professor – UAH 39,930.
These amounts will be further supplemented by allowances for academic degree, rank, and length of service.
“The principle is simple and clear: the higher the qualifications and professional skills of an employee, the higher their salary should be – it is an honest connection between the growth of competence and the growth of income,” explained the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy.
Mr. Hetmantsev emphasized that this model of salary calculation has been calculated for the budget and is ready for implementation. In his opinion, such changes in the remuneration policy of Ukrainian scientists and teachers will provide
- students – stable and motivated teachers;
- universities – competitiveness and less staff outflow;
- communities – stronger higher education institutions, more projects and taxes in the region.
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