Never before has there been so much talk in Italy as of late school. From the case of a professor shot with an air gun to the eternal question of hiring teaching staff, it turns out that in Italy teachers this is a poorly protected and (above all) low-paid category. The data speaks for itself: Italian teachers earn 22% less than their counterparts inEuropean Union, according to data published in the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2022 report and from Aran’s semi-annual report. A gap not unimportant when you consider that an Italian teacher earns less than half at the end of the month than his German counterpart, and this applies to all levels of school, from elementary to senior (even if elementary teachers are the most penalized).

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In short, while in recent years in most European countries – not only in Germany, but also in France and Spain – the average European wage has risen by almost two points, in Italy it has even fallen by six points. And before salary getting thinner, the prestige that this category boasted a few decades ago has also declined. Suffice it to recall the case of a teacher wounded by a shotgun, who had to suffer not only from a humiliating physical attack from his students, but also from ostracism from some parents who resorted to the punishment prescribed for those responsible for the crime. crime. And yet, among the many disputes around the figure of teachers, there is a positive note: we are finally returning to the conversation about school. And this is done, starting precisely with a request for an extension of the contract and a salary increase: it is a pity, however, that it is far from salaries European colleagues, considering that the increase in the payroll will be only a little over one hundred euros. Very little, considering that inflation in Italy over the past year is 8%, but not only.

The path to becoming a teacher in our country is more and more like an obstacle course – and the numbers of historical unreliability speak for themselves – in addition, increasingly advanced skills are required from teachers, as we saw during Covid19 with the adoption of the DAD. controversy however, they are not completed, and among them stands out the proposal of Minister of Education and Merit Valditar for wage differentiation between regions where the cost of living is higher and others where it is lower. A solution (subsequently immediately refuted), in order to shake off the dust from the so-called “wage frameworks”, fortunately abolished more than fifty years ago. The fact is that while other countries invest a lot in education and research, Italy has found itself at the rear, not only because of lower wages, but also because of the importance it places on educating future generations. This is a topic that should definitely make us think.