Slovakia currently lacks approximately 2,000 to 3,000 teachers. This problem has been constantly worsening in recent years, especially in some regions. This was stated by the chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia, Jozef Božik. According to him, schools also lack non-pedagogical employees, such as school canteen workers, janitors, cleaners and others.
Božík has registered the lack of teachers in the Bratislava and Košice region, with the fact that mainly Košice region lacks teachers due to demographic changes and labour migration to other countries. He also pointed to a significant shortage, especially in smaller villages and in the countryside in the Banská Bystrica region. Possible solutions are increasing salaries and providing incentives for young people to choose a career in education, as well as supporting retraining for non-teaching staff. Božík claims that future teachers should be motivated by raising the status of the teaching staff and to set the conditions of their work so that young graduates of pedagogic faculties are not discouraged from working in education by being disrespected and often confronted not only by the parents, but also by problematic students.
Source: TASR
