Education is a politically sensitive issue that can be manipulated by the masses. At the same time, teachers' salaries need to be increased to be able to compete.
About this in interview with RBC-Ukraine said Ksenia Semenova, President of the State University “Kyiv Aviation Institute”.
What is the basic salary of a professor at a university?
According to the expert, a professor at all universities in the country receives 17-20 thousand hryvnias as a base salary.
She recalled that when Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko made a presentation of the government's priorities, education was the 7th priority there.
“The first is defense, the second is industry, etc. And where will defense come from? We think that the West will provide us with defense assistance. So far, we have the impression that we are not counting on our people in this strategy,” the president of KAI shared.
Why education is a key sector for the state
According to Semenova, education is a key sector for the state.
“If we were counting on our own human capital, we would put education first. Because in order to build defense and the economy, we first need to prepare people for this,” she explained.
The President of the KAI added that “we need to talk about this: we need to stop perceiving education as an attempt to evade conscription.”
In which universities do teachers have double salaries?
“The same goes for salaries. If we don't raise them, there will be no one to compete for,” the expert believes.
She recalled that at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (KPI) and at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers determined “that teachers in these two universities have a double salary.”
“Everyone is competing for the amount of funding according to the formulaic principle, and Shevchenko University is funded separately. Because there is a certain lobby,” Semenova said.
What are the average salaries of teachers at the State University of Kyiv International Academy of Sciences?
The average salaries of teachers at the Kyiv Aviation Institute, according to its head, are “low, like everyone else’s.”
“They are the same for everyone. The tariff grid is still in effect. We have it too,” Semenova shared.
At the same time, she noted that KAI plans to move away from it “towards a grading system of pay” (this is a systematic approach to classifying positions and setting salary levels – depending on the complexity of the work, responsibility and competencies, – RedL.).
“But for this you need to have finances. It takes time to earn this money,” the head of the university admitted.
How can individual KAI projects be financed?
According to Semenova, individual projects at KAI are funded by partners.
“And there, the salary of the head of a scientific laboratory can be 40 thousand in addition to the basic one. For individual projects, we pay normally,” the specialist explained.
She reminded that in the Czech Republic, for example, the university base rate is low.
“60% of teachers’ salaries are scientific projects. Either contracts with business, or grants. We don’t have this culture,” shared the president of KAI.
She also reported that the university has already "started paying bonuses for applying for grant projects."
“Even if you don’t win, there’s still an incentive prize. If you’re shortlisted but don’t win, the prize is a little bigger,” Semenova concluded.
Recall that according to the government's forecast, the average salary of Ukrainians may exceed 25 thousand hryvnias. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in Ukraine will grow more slowly - due to the scenario of a prolonged war.
