Teacher Salaries in Ukraine to Rise by 50% in 2026: What the Budget Says and How It Will Work
In 2026, Ukrainian teachers may receive the biggest raise in their average salary in the last decade a 50% increase within a single year. Such growth is included in the 2026 state budget draft, which has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. It involves a two-stage increase: 30% from January 1, 2026, and another 20% from September 1, 2026.
These figures were confirmed by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who stated:
“[It is planned] to increase the average salary of pedagogical workers by 50% in two stages 30% from January 1, 2026, 20% from September 1, 2026.”
Although the total spending for teacher salaries in 2026 remains at the 2025 level over 103 billion hryvnias separately the government allocates an additional 53.8 billion hryvnias as funding to increase the prestige of teaching. It is this sum that becomes the key mechanism to finance the salary increases.
Altogether the 2026 budget draft allocates 265.3 billion hryvnias to the field of education. This is one of the largest spending items, covering both basic support and specific development programs. Among the main expenditure directions:
- 58.3 billion hryvnias – for training specialists in universities and colleges;
- 14.4 billion hryvnias – for feeding schoolchildren, including children affected by Chernobyl;
- 13 billion hryvnias – for infrastructure updates in schools and universities (equipment, school buses, cafeterias, fire safety measures);
- 2.15 billion hryvnias – for textbooks for students and teachers;
- 450 million hryvnias – for support of persons with special educational needs;
- 200 million hryvnias – for development of vocational-technical education as part of the economic recovery strategy;
- 150 million hryvnias – for the professional development of teachers under the New Ukrainian School program.
Additionally, allocated funds include:
- 79.2 million hryvnias – for scholarships and presidential awards to the most successful pupils and Olympiad participants;
- 71.9 million hryvnias – for professional development of specialists across various sectors;
- 120 million hryvnias – for the Superheroes School, which educates children undergoing long-term treatment, including opening three new educational centers;
- 500 million hryvnias – to restore university infrastructure within public investment projects.
Minimum wage, inflation, and context
The 2026 budget draft also foresees a rise in the living minimum to 3209 hryvnias per month, which is a 9.9% increaseover the current figure. The minimum wage will increase to 8647 hryvnias, i.e., by 647 hryvnias, or 8.1%.
Against these numbers, a 50% raise for teachers stands out, since it is nearly double the annual increase of the minimum wage. At the same time, it’s important to understand: the real increase in income will depend on inflation, on how salary payments are structured (whether just base pay or total compensation including allowances), and on the government’s ability to ensure full payment.
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What is clear and what needs clarification
At this stage the government has not disclosed the exact mechanism of implementation. The draft budget does not specify:
- Whether the increase applies to all educators including preschool teachers, vocational school teachers, university lecturers;
- Whether the pay scale will be changed or only existing coefficients will be adjusted;
- How funds will be distributed centrally via subsidies or with involvement of local budgets;
- Whether there are separate incentives for young teachers or those in rural or frontline regions.
All these are no less important than the fact of the announced raise. Because behind the overall percentage there must be a real transparent formula of pay, understandable to every school worker.
What “increasing the prestige of teaching” means
For the first time in years of teacher salary reform, the government is explicitly naming increasing the prestige of the teaching profession as a separate budget direction. This is significant because it acknowledges that teacher pay needs not only to match average national levels but also to be purposely increased to retain professional capacity. Realizing this aim is possible only if there is also a reform in the approach to pay, a reduction of ad hoc allowances, ensuring consistent payments across all regions, and guaranteeing education financing is independent of political fluctuations.
The teacher salary increase in 2026 is one of the most ambitious budgetary initiatives in education in recent years.But without clear implementation mechanisms, guaranteed payments, and renewal of the entire pay system, it risks remaining a financial declaration. So far the government is announcing record sums, but responsibility for realization lies with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and local authorities. The coming months will show whether the promised raise will become a real incentive for tens of thousands of teachers across the country, or remain another item in election-style announcements of a “new quality of education.”
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