Η Greek educational community is experiencing a serious crisis with mass resignations teachers, which reflects the enormous difficulties facing the sector. From the April 2024 and afterwards, there has been an unprecedented wave of departures, with 514 teachers only from Attica to submit final request for resignation, while 113 training staff resigned during the year. In addition, thousands of others seek legal advice to ensure that the their faster disengagement from the industry, expressing their disappointment at the education system.
The situation is equally worrying in private schools, where complaints of poor working conditions and pressure are increasing. In the last three years, some 2,000 teachers in private schools have resigned, despite the loss of points that this entails for public education.
These developments have multiple causes. Underfunding of the education system remains a long-standing problem, with spending on education remaining below the European average, reaching only 2.8% of GDP, while the European average ranges between 5% and 5.5%. Increased demands, pressure for increased administrative burdens and limited resources create a toxic environment, which pushes teachers to resign. It is noted that Greek teachers enjoy the lowest salary in the Eurozone, as well as all those who work in the Greek public sector (doctors, nurses, security forces, state employees, etc.)
The state must immediately acknowledge the problem and take steps to improve the working conditions of teachers, otherwise mass resignations will continue to undermine the future of education in our country.
