Ahead of September 1, which marks the beginning of the new academic year, there are around 650 vacancies for teaching jobs in Lithuania, but the problem is global, Education, Science and Sport Minister Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė has said.
“The number of new teachers is increasing [...], but the need is a bit higher,” she told a press conference on Tuesday. “We are not ignoring the problem, even though it’s a global problem. We are trying to motivate teachers to come to schools with the existing instruments.”
According to the minister, some schools are looking only for part-time teachers. There are also around 1,200 teachers looking for jobs via the Employment Service.
“It goes without saying that it is up to schools and their headmasters to choose, which is why there is a mismatch in these figures. There seems to be a supply, but it is not necessarily to the satisfaction of school leaders,” Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė said.
She noted that young people are encouraged to study pedagogy, and students are motivated by scholarships of up to 600 euros. Opportunities for choosing a minor degree in pedagogy and easier retraining could also contribute to reducing the shortage of teachers, the minister said.
Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė added that it is also possible for teachers to work remotely, but this is not the best option.
“Telework is not an aspiration, but it is happening, we’ve learnt it during the pandemic, and the legal framework is flexible enough to allow us to employ teachers who can also teach remotely,” she said.
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