For one additional payment: teachers are overworked in all regions of Russia
In about 20 regions of the Russian Federation, teachers work at two rates, and they do not work anywhere else in the country, according to the monitoring of trade unions prepared by May 1. This week, the Minister of Education announced that the workload for teachers is planned to be limited to five to six lessons per day, that is, to increase to 1.4 rates. But now such a volume is performed by teachers only in eight regions. Experts believe that the implementation of plans to dramatically reduce the workload is unlikely, especially given that this is the main way for schools to meet the salary targets set out in the May decrees, and for teachers to increase their incomes.
Where do they work the most
In the city of Solikamsk in the Perm Region, the fee for one teacher's rate of 18 hours per week is about 15 thousand rubles.
"Therefore, a heavy workload is the only way to survive," a teacher from the region told Izvestia. — And before limiting the workload, we need to decide on a salary increase for the rate.
This is how the teacher reacted to the statement of the Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov. On Monday, April 28, at a meeting of the Council of Legislators of the Russian Federation, he said: "Today we are rationing, among other things, the burden on teachers: that 1.4 rates is the average load on a teacher. Five or six lessons, no more."
Monitoring of the situation with teacher overwork by May 1 was conducted by the Teacher trade union based on a statistical observation form, the data of which is posted annually by the Ministry of Education on its website. Local executive authorities send reports on the situation in different regions to the agency. From their data, it follows that 1.23–1.4 rates are the minimum average number of teachers in the country, on average, they do not work for one rate in any subject of the federation. And the minimum load — up to 1.4 rates — is available only in eight Russian regions.
The maximum overwork in the country is for teachers in Udmurtia, which is 2.03 rates. There are 232 vacant positions in the region's schools.
Teachers work at 1.98–1.8 rates in 15 more regions, most of all in the Khabarovsk Territory, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Omsk and Kemerovo Regions, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
589 teaching vacancies have been opened in the Irkutsk Region (they work here at 1.8 rates), 370 in the Kemerovo Region, 340 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. These are some of the most significant figures in the country. More teachers are being sought only in the Moscow region — 760.
"By May 1, we wanted to show the scale of overexploitation that is currently taking place," said Olga Miryasova, the trade union's organizing secretary. "With such reworking, teachers cannot ensure the quality of education."
What the teachers tell us
Teacher from Krasnogorsk (Moscow region) She told Izvestia that her workload was 34 hours.
"There are 30-35 children in the classes, and there are many migrants who speak Russian poorly," she said. — The consequences of high stress: chronic stress, constant headaches, feeling insecure, constant fatigue. I am tormented by remorse that after my main job and left-wing assignments, I cannot devote time to my family, full-fledged preparation for lessons, and self-education."
The teacher complained that in addition to her main work, she is often required to participate in various votes, contests, asked to send screenshots to parents about completing assignments, and register on various portals.
— Work chat torments you until late at night, on weekends, in class, including voice messages, — she said. — After receiving a salary, you keep thinking, why do I need all this? The only joy is the gratitude of most of the students and parents. Why raise your salary when you're ready to work hard?
And a teacher from Moscow (the average workload in the city is 1.31 hours) said that she works 30 hours a week and teaches lessons for 17 grades.
— I hardly know students in grades 5-6, where lessons are only once a week. I don't even know some of them by sight. At first I was worried, now I'm just trying to take it for granted," said the teacher. — My colleagues have high blood pressure, lack of sleep, late dinners without lunch, no time for their children and relatives. There is not enough time for high-quality preparation for lessons. Frequent loss of voice, laryngitis. This is not a job, but a conveyor belt, there is no time to properly get to know and communicate with children and colleagues.
Another teacher from Moscow complained that it was impossible to prepare for lessons with a heavy workload.
— We are forced to hack, to conduct everything strictly according to the textbook, and then they accuse us of an uncreative approach. And it's the same with large classes. You have to spend a lot of time trying to remember children, not to mention their psychological characteristics," she said.
Another teacher (she asked not to name the region) said that the school's management was already forcing her to take a 30—hour workload for next year, but she couldn't because she had a disabled child.
Is it likely to reduce the load
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education about which order regulates the reduction of workload, due to which the set parameter will be achieved and how its reduction will be controlled. The All-Russian Trade Union of Education reported that they were waiting for clarification from the department and did not comment on its plans.
The Teacher trade union suggested that the goal of reducing overwork could be achieved if the number of teachers in schools was increased.
"But there's nowhere to take them,— Olga Miryasova believes. — The salary is not growing significantly. And now the increase in workload is a voluntary and compulsory measure: schools must comply with the May decrees on teachers' incomes, but teachers also understand that they will not survive without additional pay. Although, for example, we urge you not to charge more than 1.2 rates, but to earn extra money in another place, for example, as a tutor.
She noted that Moscow is an exception to the general rule: teachers have high salaries in the capital, so there is even competition for places in schools. According to monitoring data, there were only 57 vacant positions in the city. Although here, teachers complain that the workload is high.
Irina Abankina, a professor at the Institute of Education of the Higher School of Economics, called the statement of the head of the Ministry of Education mysterious.
"I think that reducing the workload is unlikely, given the shortage of teachers, their departure from schools for alternative jobs, additional education, and tutoring, including on various online platforms," she said.
The expert noted that other fields of activity are currently experiencing a shortage of personnel, so qualified people, such as teachers, will be welcome almost everywhere— not only in the field of education. According to Irina Abankina, there is currently no reserve in the country to fill the shortage of staff in schools.
—And young professionals quickly burn out and leave, especially given such a workload," she said. — Moreover, the intensification of work has now taken place quite covertly: classroom occupancy has increased, and now it is not uncommon for 35 people in a class.
225.8 thousand students study at universities subordinate to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, 70% on a budgetary basis, the department reported in April 2025. For the 2025/26 academic year, more than 37 thousand budget places will be allocated for future teachers. In addition, in 2025, the quota for targeted training in pedagogical specialties has been maintained at 30%. About 8 thousand rubles are expected to be allocated for pedagogical universities of the Ministry of Education. places.
Young personnel are in high demand — just a few days ago, the Ministry of Education of the Moscow region reported that more than 80% of graduates of pedagogical universities in the Moscow region found a job in their specialty by the end of 2024.
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