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Finance Minister Mihály Varga announced in a Facebook post on Wednesday that HUF 184 billion (EUR 470 million) in EU funding has been received by Hungary to raise the salaries of school and kindergarten teachers.
He added that some HUF 340 billion (EUR 875 million) of domestic funds were used for the wage increase implemented at the beginning of the year. The HUF 184 billion now received is an ex-post contribution to the pay raise pre-financed from the national budget. The Minister also said that since December last year, HUF 734 billion (EUR 2 billion) of previously blocked EU funds due to Hungary had already been received.
It is important to note that the money was not specifically earmarked for teachers’ salaries. The government had earlier tied the pay increases in the profession to the release of withheld subsidies and intends to spend it on their wages. As Hungary Today reported, Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, previously said that
12 percent of the total wage increase will come from the EU funds Hungary is entitled to, with the remaining 88 percent coming from the national budget.
In December last year, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made an announcement of a three-year wage development program for school and kindergarten teachers. This meant a 32.2 percent increase in the average salary of teachers from January 2024. Further increases will take effect from January 1, 2025 and 2026. By the end of the program, the average salary of teachers will be HUF 800,000 (EUR 2,000), the Prime Minister said.
Via MTI, Featured image: Pexels