Oecd: 'Teachers' salary must be increased'

Tekst Robert Sikkes - Redactie Onderwijsblad - 10 september 2019 - 3 Minuten om te lezen

Picture: Type tank

In many countries of the OECD, the international think tank for economic development, teachers earn considerably less than other highly educated people. In the Netherlands, teachers are relatively well paid internationally, with strong purchasing power. But the salary arrears compared to other highly educated people is certainly high in primary education at 29 percent in 2018. In secondary education, the difference is slightly less at 11 percent.

Salary of teachers compared to other highly educated people

Source: Education at a Glance 2019

In many OECD countries, large groups of older teachers are retiring and there is or threat of a teacher shortage. Just like the Netherlands, many countries are faced with an enormous recruitment challenge for new, young teachers. Part of this is better starting salaries and career prospects.

So the OECD's advice to governments is to consider investing more in the teaching profession to increase attractiveness. "Salary influences the decision to go to teacher training, to become a teacher after graduation, to return to education after another job or to remain a teacher," the OECD notes.

The OECD's advice to governments is to consider investing more in the teaching profession to increase attractiveness

Not only the salary determines this attractiveness, but also working conditions such as class size and the number of teaching hours that a teacher has on the program for the entire year. The Oeso also sees this challenge for Dutch teachers, the organization reports in a separate country report. 'Teachers have a heavier teaching task and larger classes.' In the report, the high number of teaching hours and full classes are explicitly mentioned.

Teachers have a heavier teaching task and larger classes in the Netherlands

The OECD does not have good figures on class size, but it does on the number of students per teacher: the student-teacher ratio. In primary and secondary education, this has been higher than the average in the OECD and in Europe for years. In the Netherlands, primary school teachers have on average 21 percent more pupils than their colleagues in the EU, in secondary education as much as 29 percent. Dutch teachers also teach more lessons per year than their colleagues in other countries.

Pupil-teacher ratio is much higher in the Netherlands

Source: Education at a Glance 2019

Teaching hours that a full-time teacher gives per year

Source: Education at a Glance 2019

The OECD does warn that countries with deficits should not fill in the gaps created by the pension wave at all costs. Good education requires well-trained teachers, especially now that the importance of good education is only increasing. For as the OECD writes: "Intellectual capital has become the most valuable asset of our time." Only with knowledge, according to the OECD, the world can cope with the struggle with technological developments, migration and climate change.

In the report published today Education at a Glance 2019 that is why higher education and the road towards it play a leading role. Despite the growth in higher education, the demand for higher vocational education and university graduates remains high. The Oeso sees that there is growth in the Netherlands, but is critical of the design of secondary education. Young people who choose pre-vocational secondary education and want to continue on, have to travel a long way to reach higher education.

Read the entire report Education at a glance 2019 via the OECD website.