Around 500 Teachers to Receive 30-50% Salary Increment: Zhanna Andreasian

The mechanism for salary incentives for teachers has been in place since 2012, which allows for salary increments based on years of service. A first-class ranking grants a 10% increment, a second-class 20%, a third-class 30%, and a fourth-class 50%. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasian on her Facebook page.

“In almost ten years, only about 7% of teachers have received a ranking. Moreover, we awarded third-class ranks for the first time last year to two teachers and this year to one teacher. The applications for these rankings are quite few. There are also relatively few teachers with second-class ranks. There are no teachers with a fourth-class ranking. Thus, we have a system that seems merely documental, but in reality, it is not an effective mechanism for motivating teachers—not in terms of the size of the increment or the conditions,” she emphasized.

As a result of a pilot phase in voluntary certification, around five hundred teachers will already receive a salary increment of 30-50%. Throughout these years, as I mentioned, the internal threshold of thirty percent has only been available to the three teachers who obtained their third-class ranks last year and this year. Of course, adjustments are needed in the voluntary certification process. The pilot phase indicated what these adjustments should be. But with improvements, it can become a real tool for salary incentives.

At the same time, today we still have teachers who both have ranks and also good results in voluntary certification. For these teachers, the cumulative incentive can reach 70-80% of their salary. Certainly, it is not sufficient. However, it is an opportunity that can benefit both the teacher and the student, as the immediate beneficiary of the teacher’s professional development,” Andreasian noted.