Brazilian teachers’ salary lowest among 40 countries – OECD study

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The salary floor for Brazilian teachers in the final years of elementary school is the lowest among 40 countries assessed in a study by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released on Thursday, September 16.

According to the report Education at a Glance 2021, Brazilian teachers have a starting salary of US$13,900 per year. In Germany, for instance, the amount exceeds US$70,000, and is more than US$20,000 in countries like Greece, Colombia and Chile.

The conversion for salary comparison is based on the purchasing power parity scale, which reflects the countries’ cost of living. In relation to the real salary, which includes extra payments, the average Brazilian wage also falls short – it only exceeds what teachers in Hungary and Slovakia earn. Salaries depend on factors such as age, level of experience and professional qualifications.

According to the OECD, Brazilian teachers’ real average salary is US$25,030 per year at the pre-school level (which corresponds to early childhood education) and US$25,366 at the primary level (early elementary years). In the average of OECD countries, the values for the same stages are US$40,707 and US$45,687, respectively.

“Equal opportunities are a key component of a strong and cohesive democratic society. Unlike policies that may tackle the consequences, education can address the roots of inequality of opportunities,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said Thursday. “Reinforcing investments in better and more relevant education will be key to helping countries deliver long-term social and economic prosperity,” Cormann added in Paris.

“The career of teachers in Brazil needs to be structured in a way that guarantees their professional development and enhances student learning. But we must advocate for salary increases,” said All for Education movement co-founder and executive president Priscila Cruz on social networks.

According to the OECD, the school environment influences the teachers’ decision to enter and remain in the profession. “Class sizes have decreased in recent years in Brazil, but teachers’ salaries remain below average,” the report points out.

Regarding class size, the study indicates that the number of students in classrooms has been dropping between 2013 and 2019, from 23 to 20 students in the early years of elementary school – below the OECD average (21). In the final years of elementary school, there has been a drop from 28 to 26, although higher than the average of other countries (23).

PANDEMIC EFFECT ON SCHOOL CLASSES

The report shows that Brazil was the country that kept its schools closed the longest. There were 178 days with no classes in preschool and early elementary school last year, triple the average time of wealthier countries.