At the beginning of 2026, there was a significant increase in the salaries of educational workers in Ukraine. Teachers’ salaries rose by 30%, which affected not only their income levels but also the calculation of the cost of one hour of their work. As of March this year, the issue of teachers’ wages has become particularly relevant.
This is reported by Finway
What Teaching Load is Expected for Teachers
According to Article 24 of the law “On Complete General Secondary Education,” the salary grading for teachers is based on an 18-hour workweek. This is the amount of time educators spend in the classroom conducting lessons according to the curriculum. However, the majority of their working hours also includes preparation for classes, grading assignments, class management, methodological and educational activities, as well as individual consultations with students. Formally, a teacher’s workweek consists of 40 hours, although this schedule is often flexible, depending on the volume of additional work.
Teachers’ Salaries and the Calculation of Hourly Rates
The minimum salaries for educational workers in March 2026 range from 8,841 UAH to 11,755.80 UAH. These amounts pertain to the base rates for teachers with 10-14 salary grades and do not take into account additional bonuses and allowances, which can significantly increase the overall salary.
The calculation of the cost of a teaching hour is based on a standard load of 18 hours per week, which totals 72 hours per month (18 hours x 4 weeks). By dividing the minimum salaries by the number of hours in the classroom, we obtain the cost of one teaching hour for different categories:
- no category — 122 UAH,
- second category — 143 UAH,
- first category — 153 UAH,
- higher category — 163 UAH.
“This calculation is fair in cases where the educator works in the school for only 18 hours a week, without performing other duties.”
However, if we consider a full monthly load of 160 hours (40 hours per week over 4 weeks), the cost of one hour of a teacher’s work decreases and ranges from 55 to 73 UAH. In this case, the entire spectrum of responsibilities is taken into account — preparation for lessons, grading work, class management, and other tasks. Thus, the actual cost of an hour of a teacher’s work is significantly lower than the cost of just a teaching hour in the classroom.