Branimir Štrukelj said that considering the results obtained by the study of efficiency of invested funds in view of achieved GEM results, Slovenia should increase teachers' salaries by 17 percent, or reduce the number of children from 14 to nine children in average.

Money helps the most
"The funds invested in teaching staff contribute far more to the quality of education than reduction of number of children in class, which is contrary to the actions taken by the 30 best developed countries in the last two or three decades," was his comment of the comparative research according to which an average gross salary of a Slovenian teacher should amount to 38,210 dollars per year, instead of 32,480 dollars per year.

"The inhabitants of Slovenia are still better educated than inhabitants of other countries. But we are ringing the alarm bell, as it can't last. We will never have a Silicon Valley, nor gold mines," Štrukelj stressed the importance of education on the World Teacher Day, Oktober 5. He also reminded that during the period from January 2013 to January 2014 the number of employees in schools has decreased by 2.5 percent, while only in elementary schools the number of children increased by 1,300. Therefore he announced the beginning of the struggle of Slovenian teaching staff for improvement of conditions for education.

Saša Banjanac Lubej, MMC
Translated by G. K.