Across Lithuania, schools save millions at the expense of teachers – the ministry cannot rely on such figures

Egidijus Milešinas, president of the union that carried out the investigation, explained to Delfi that the number of 6,000 teacher positions that were not used was derived from information provided to the public by ŠMSM.

“The Minister has repeatedly spoken about teachers’ salaries, emphasizing that the problem is not only because salaries are low in themselves, but that they are low simply because teachers occupy 0.7 positions. This means that if teachers work an average of 0.7 positions, it follows from the proportion that around 6,000 positions are not assigned to teachers. In other words, they save, ”he said.

E. Milešinas presented the figure that there are 27,682 teachers in Lithuania and the state finances 26,784.81 positions according to the number of students.

Consequently, the State guarantees 0.95 positions. So much for the money they spend. This is one side of the coin, as that appointment means there are more teachers than there are funded positions. Another thing is that these positions are funded on the basis of a relative coefficient R, which calculates the average salary ratio of teachers. They are methodological teachers with at least ten years of experience ”.

According to him, if there are more such teachers in schools, and especially in large gymnasiums, those positions are no longer funded.

“Consequently, the less goes out and the school leaders don’t get that much money, so they are forced to save in this place, they don’t have to give someone a part-time job to pay the salaries of other teachers. Another thing that the law stipulates and lists very well is that teachers can be paid up to 30 percent for additional activities. 100% monthly premium or once a year.

Also due to the complexity of the activity, that is, working with students who have a specification. needs or with students studying at home, <...>, an increased coefficient of up to 20% must be paid. However, the Government does not use the euro for that either ”, he emphasized.

Savings of 120 million euros

E. Milešinas emphasized that if the teachers work in more difficult conditions, then in order for the principal to be able to pay it, as established by law, he has to save money for someone.

“Don’t give someone a part-time job to pay others for those jobs. So this place is saving and apparently still saving for premiums, etc. If we look at the Sodra data for December, which is freely available, we can say that the salaries of practically all schools are higher than in other months.

This means that when principals save, a variety of bonuses and bonuses are paid in December, and often, as far as we know, teachers don’t know much and know what criteria are used to pay how much and to whom. We estimate that converting those 6,000 positions into that euro will cost about 120 million, “he said.

The president of the union stressed that of those 6,000 positions, 700 are held by the directors themselves, their substitutes and other educators.

“These are not teachers, and these 700 positions cost about 15 million. euros. Another thing that is also important is the ministry in 2018. extended the school year by a week, <...>, but did not allocate money for it. It is estimated that there are around 700 posts or 15 million posts in that week. euros.

Consequently, the school year of those face-to-face hours has continued, but for the third year nothing has changed. We see that a new project is being prepared, in which the number of contact hours will be extended, but will not give additional money, ”said E. Milešinas.

He was outraged that a variety of additional roles were being added to teachers, but there was no funding. He also added that almost all schools face this problem, as they are instructed to save 2-3 seats to cover contingencies.

Situations are said to be varied

Dainius Žvirdauskas, president of the Lithuanian School Leaders Association (LMVA), when asked why some leaders save at the expense of teaching positions, commented that it is difficult to talk about it, because the situation in schools is different.

“First of all, we have to start with how the school network is organized in each city. If it is organized in an optimal way, if the schools are full and the classes are optimal when there are between 26 and 28 children in them, then those schools are more financially balanced.

The management of each school, in consultation with the representatives of the workers, the unions, the works councils, makes these optimal decisions. For example, if a separate class needs the help of a specialist, you might need a specification. teacher, a teaching assistant may be needed, <...>, there are all kinds of situations ”.

So, he said, the claim that this saves teachers money is exactly the same when all journalists are compared.

“We would put him in a row and man. Editor, and editor, and journalists, and those who write a lot of articles, and those who work 0.3 positions full time, and we would divide his total income by the average. So you could say that journalists earn little ”, joked D. Žvirdauskas.

In their view, the union’s claims are not entirely substantiated and therefore they would suggest sitting down and making financial cuts.

“Perhaps it would be necessary to take the city, the town, etc. separately according to the municipalities, according to the metropolitan section, or it would also be possible according to the region, the school <...> writes. I think that talking about averages is the same as talking about how doctors in a hospital meet in a council and ask what the average temperature of the patient is today. The doctors in the wards say that today it is 37.2 and yesterday 37.6. Consequently, the patient is less ill today. So, you see, it’s funny, “said D. Žvirdauskas.

On the other hand, he added that he also understands the fears of the unions, so the sensitive points must be refined.

“It just came to our knowledge then. There may be another side to the coin, because I said one side. Thus, there are municipalities where it is not possible to have an optimal school. Let us suppose that it is very remote or that the municipality has decided that there are many children in social risk there and it would be difficult to transport them somewhere. Then she leaves that school and gets additional funds, but she is still forced to save somewhere. You know, those stories can be endless, “he said.

The LMVA president was glad that the union raised a problem, but stressed that it was necessary to find out in which municipalities it was happening, because, to his knowledge, the Kaunas school network was arranged for teachers to work more. than full time. However, according to E. Milešinas, there are also no full-time schools in this city, but the full survey with tables will be presented in mid-August.

Ministry: Some figures are questionable

ŠMSM commented that the LŠMPS report mentions a number of numbers, but some raise doubts.

“But now it is difficult to comment on them; we will be able to do so when we become familiar with the research, conduct data analysis. As far as we know, the study should be published by the end of August. The report mentions specific figures, it should be explored which data sources or data is interpreted correctly.

Funds for education are calculated according to the established procedure, taking into account the number of students and the number of conditional positions determined in accordance with it. There are about 1,000 schools, so a variety of situations can arise in them. Some save money, others may lack. According to the established methodology, a separate part of the funds is assigned to the municipalities to alleviate these inequalities between schools, ”said the ministry.

He also noted that the Ministry believes that the financing methodology ensures a sufficient provision of education.

“However, the financial resources of the state are limited, so not all needs can be met. The funds must be used with great care and responsibility, taking into account the possibilities,” explains the comment.