Low pay, busy schedules, emotional exhaustion, formal and informal obligations, and systemic problems — these are the challenges that teachers employed in various schools in Georgia face today.
Their daily work is usually not limited to teaching a few lessons. Behind this routine, there is a lot of physical and emotional stress that often goes unnoticed by society. In addition to teaching, their responsibilities during the day include communicating with dozens of children, parents, and colleagues, during which they also have to adjust to the role of counselor, mediator, or psychologist.
However, this is only part of the day. Due to the lack of pay, some teachers continue their work from home — this time with private lessons, checking assignments, and making plans for the next day. Many of them, in fact, perform professional duties during non-working hours, which ultimately increases the workload and requires additional effort.
If we look at the gender distribution, the majority of teachers in Georgia are women. According to the National Statistics Service’s 2022 data, the number of female teachers was 87.4%. Their daily activities are complemented by an invisible and unpaid part – domestic work, because, due to gender roles in Georgia, the burden of caring for the family, taking care of it, and performing daily household chores falls on women.
► Read more about this topic: What Is Home Labor and What Are Women’s Experiences?
In this article, we will try to clarify, through the experiences of two respondents, what the labor reality of female teachers is like in Georgia — rights at the legislative level, their implementation in practice, and in general, what standards are used to measure the value of a teacher’s labor.
Maia — Georgian Language and Literature Teacher
“The average salary for 15 hours is 1,300 GEL. This is not the amount of money in Georgia that a teacher can use to buy a book or a computer,” says Maia Ekaladze, who teaches Georgian language and literature at a public school in Tbilisi.
Maia began her professional career when she was 20. Today, her daily routine, in addition to working at school, also includes tutoring private students, because, as she says, she would not be able to support herself with school fees alone.
“You don’t buy a computer every month, of course, but you need a book every day and several times a month. You need stationery, in addition to the other daily expenses and needs that every person has. A teacher also needs some money for their own development, which is practically impossible to find.”
Her morning starts at 7:00 AM with lessons. During this time, she teaches her students online. She arrives at school around 11:00 a.m. Some of her students graduated this year, so she is less busy now.
She says that this profession is tiring, but at the same time it is energizing — she does not feel tired during the teaching process, she notices it when she finishes the last lesson. In addition to the fact that there is no time to rest during the working day, she does not manage to do so on weekends. She says that this is the general experience of her other colleagues.
“A teacher is either busy with the hours of being the head of a class and similar problems at school or busy with students at home. […] If you ask me, for example, what your hobbies are, I can’t tell you anything, because at this stage I’m not doing anything except lessons.”
Physical exertion is only one part of this activity. It is often accompanied by emotional labor and stress.
“It’s very depressing. You may hear information that there is conflict in the family on a daily basis and the child becomes a witness to it. You may see a child who is hungry, who got sick because they haven’t eaten, who is not being fed properly. Not to even mention the illnesses. It’s very difficult emotionally. In fact, you live everyone’s life.”
Based on Maia’s experience, another challenge is taking care of your health. In addition to finding time, finding a replacement colleague is also a problem. The process is so difficult to plan that they often have to cancel doctor’s appointments.
“It really depends on the principal and how they solve it, but it is always a problem. It is difficult, you have planned to come to school and teach 3-4 lessons and they ask you to teach 6 or 7 lessons, it is not easy. You do it once, a second time, a third time and it is difficult for you too. In addition, the lesson requires a plan, preparation in advance, in order to enter another class. Therefore, we try not to miss unless we are feeling very bad. We impose self-censorship on ourselves, otherwise, no one is really imposing a censorship on us,” says Maia.
According to her, another barrier is that the school has difficulty paying for paid leave: ” It’s as if it depends on conscience and honor that they have to pay for my own paid leave and also pay the substitute teacher, as if then everyone will have some kind of a problem.”
Maia also talks about the importance of professional development opportunities, which are also impossible to achieve with the current salary.
“Living conditions in the country must be improved, not only for teachers. Approaches to human rights must change. European values will help us get here.”
It also points to the need for a well-functioning infrastructure and access to modern equipment — that these are not luxuries, but basic needs that the education system in a developed country must meet if the goal is to receive a quality education.
Keso — Civic Education Teacher
“I probably wouldn’t agree to an environment where my labor rights wouldn’t be protected,” says Keso Gogua, who has been teaching civics, debates, and personal development at a private school for over a year. This job is not new to her. Before that, she was involved in non-formal education in collaboration with various organizations. Even now, within the framework of various projects, she contributes to the integration process of ethnic minorities and conducts civics classes for young people from Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli.
She has several classes a week and a schedule that suits her. However, like her colleagues, she has to work outside of school, outside of official hours, and make a plan for the next school day.
Before starting a job at a private school, she had an offer from a public school, but she turned it down due to the working conditions: “I didn’t make a compromise that would limit my freedom of expression or, so to speak, financial security. Therefore, at this stage, I chose a position that would make me comfortable and not violate my labor rights.”
For Keso, the inspiration for his future profession came from her childhood experience. According to her, she always thought that the school system destroys a person’s education and personal development, which is why she herself missed out on a lot during her school years.
“I was confined within a framework. At some point, I had to work in an environment where complete freedom entered me, and I realized how much that meant. This was probably one of the sources of motivation why I decided to become a teacher,” says Keso.
Now, the main motivator for her in this profession is the interaction with children and the emotions she receives from them every day. However, the other side of this activity is responsibility.
“It’s a huge responsibility. You realize that you have to share something with them, teach them something, and not harm their inner world. Of course, there’s also nervousness and stress involved, because you’re involved in their development all day long.”
She believes that school should not only provide students with subject knowledge, so she spends time with children outside of school and participates in various activities with them, including sports.
“I wanted to create an environment for students where their hobbies would be included and they would express their knowledge in different ways.”
According to Keso, the work of teachers in Georgia, on which the development of the next generation depends, is not properly valued, including financially. This is partly due to the stereotypical approach according to which teaching is still perceived as a “female profession.”
“In the past, it was like this: you had to have a mother who was a teacher, and that’s how you chose this profession. It would come out like this, unconsciously, traditionally, because teaching was a women’s job, an undervalued labor of women,” she notes.
Keso says that the pay that teachers receive for their work — work that, in fact, lasts all day — is very low.
“There is no money for living, for the basic needs that a good teacher should have and for the work they do to be appreciated,” she says, linking the low salary to the fact that teachers are unable to find resources for professional development. She says the education sector is not taking care of this today.
“If it weren’t for the courses offered by various organizations, teacher development would be very difficult in Georgia with the financial support they receive from schools,” Keso told us.
She says that in order for this profession to be valued, a fundamental and systemic change in the education system is needed. According to her, in order to raise an active student, a teacher must first become an active citizen themselves – a person who understands the value of their own work and how important it is to protect their own rights.
“I have a moment of sympathy as a teacher. I know how much work all this is, and when teachers themselves and I can’t understand it, it’s very difficult to come to a conclusion, because you have to know what you’re doing, why and why you’re demanding things,” Keso told us.
She sees an important role for trade unions in ensuring that representatives of this profession receive information about their rights and emphasizes the need to increase their activity.
“They should be as involved as possible, appropriate communication should be carried out constantly, which requires regular meetings and campaigns. This is not happening today.”
I do know, but how many people know about this?! They don’t. Because information about this is not provided by public structures, and today, especially, the ruling power is doing everything to prevent those non-governmental organizations and trade unions that work to strengthen human rights from entering the educational system. It is difficult, in this case, to talk about professional development, but we ourselves, teachers, who know internally why we want this profession and what it gives us, must manage all this with our own resources,” says Keso.
The issue of political pressure on teachers is also cited as an example of a violation of labor rights.
“Today, the ruling party is using school and kindergarten teachers as weapons. We have numerous cases of them being taken out to government rallies.
Where does this come from? First of all, we have teachers in the educational sector who do not actually serve development. People who really want to develop do not agree with this profession. Or they agree, and I know, and they also know what it costs them. How many people, my group members, are left behind in school, because school does not offer the opportunities they actually need. As a result, there are such cadres, most of whom, I am not talking about the most, of course, do not have formed personal values, or are very financially difficult and are easily manipulated.”
Teachers and NGOs have been talking about the politicization of general education institutions and the use of administrative resources for political purposes for years. The practice of blackmail and coercion is especially noticeable during the pre-election period.
For example, during the 2018 presidential elections, unscheduled inspections of public schools were used as a lever of pressure. In this context, the ISFED report discusses the case of Ia Kerzaia. She was the principal of Zugdidi Public School No. 6. This school was one of those that was on the list of unscheduled inspections. Shortly after the incident, Ia Kerzaia was taken to the hospital with a diagnosis of stroke — she could not be saved.
Previously, she said that after she refused to include teachers in the elections, two employees of the General Inspectorate came to the school based on an anonymous letter and inspected it. The deceased’s family members and the opposition spoke about pressure on the school principal. On August 23, 2019, the prosecutor’s office discontinued the investigation into the death of Ia Kerzaia, citing the “absence of a crime” as the reason.
Cases of pressure on teachers and principals were discussed in the Rights for Georgia 2021 report, which noted that in 2020, during the pre-election period, the Ministry of Education and Science did not renew the contracts of several principals whose 6-year terms had expired, while some principals were left on an acting basis.
When discussing teachers’ labor rights and political pressure, we cannot ignore the files leaked in 2021 by Soso Gogashvili, allegedly the former deputy head of the State Security Service. As a result of studying these documents, the organizations Transparency International Georgia and Fair Elections revealed facts of alleged pressure on employees of various public institutions, including public schools, and a large-scale scheme to mobilize voters’ votes through illegal means in favor of the ruling party.
The documents also contained political descriptions and recommendations of public school principals, heads of educational resource centers, and employees of various budgetary organizations.
“A typical example of this can be considered political discrimination against public school principals. From the fall of 2020 to August 2021, the Ministry of Education and Science did not appoint at least 112 public school principals as acting principals after the expiration of their terms of office. Of the 112, 95 principals were evaluated in the documents provided by the whistleblower. Educational Resource Centers had 29 dismissed principals negatively evaluated, the ruling party had 80 principals, and the State Security Service had 89. This data shows that the assessments of the State Security Service and the ruling party were of decisive importance for the dismissal of principals, which, if confirmed, is an illegal and completely unacceptable practice,” the study says.
Teachers find it difficult to speak out publicly about such issues due to pressure and blackmail, and fear of losing their jobs. Keso focuses on the importance of solidarity — how much power teachers have when they unite around common goals, including improving their rights.
“I want to address teachers who are not yet confident in themselves — know that we are each other’s strength. If, for example, today someone dictates to you from above and tells you that you “must” act this way, express your opinion not based on your inner “I”, but on what they tell you — know that this will still harm you yourself, and also know that solidarity has great power.”
School and Labor Rights — Law and Practice
In Georgia, teachers’ labor rights are regulated by the Labor Code, Ministry of Education regulations, and the Teachers’ Professional Development Scheme. However, teachers say that what is provided in the documents is often not implemented in practice.
To get an idea of this issue, we need to know a few basic things: a teacher must be employed under a written contract; must receive timely payment, as determined by this document; must be able to take a paid leave. In addition, the employer is obliged to provide a safe and healthy environment for the teacher; protection from discrimination is necessary; teachers’ rights include the opportunity to improve their qualifications.
Our respondents talk about the violations of labor rights that teachers employed in various schools in Georgia face. One of these is overtime work. According to Keso, this is perceived as a “normal occurrence” for most teachers.
“Now that I’ve grown up and know the value of my work, I don’t agree to such positions, but I have had experience, including working in the public service, in the court, and my overtime work was not only not appreciated, they didn’t even thank me, and in the end I reached the point where I wanted to run away from there. The same is true for teachers. Teachers mostly work overtime, without even realizing it.”
Maia Ekaladze talks about another drawback of working overtime – how negatively it affects teaching and, consequently, the quality of education. As she notes, despite this, teachers cannot or do not refuse to work overtime due to the additional pay.
“In terms of salary, this is certainly important and teachers are often looking for hours. […] Overtime work is not beneficial for either the child or the development of the school. Schools also have the problem that the number of students has increased greatly and there are no longer enough buildings, teachers will not be available soon and whether we want to or not, we will have to pay for overtime work.”
When talking about teachers’ labor rights, it is important to note that until January 1, 2023, teachers could not take a paid maternity leave. Teacher Tamar Tsanava, together with her colleagues, began the fight for decent maternity conditions in January 2022, and eventually achieved victory. However, despite obtaining this right, in an interview given to Edu.aris.ge a few months ago, Tamar notes that the problem is the implementation of the law in practice. We offer you excerpts:
“Despite the fact that the law clearly states how many days a teacher is entitled to maternity pay and that all schools have been sent the amendment, there are still cases when accountants refuse to pay teachers. The reason given is that they do not have enough budget. However, in this case, the law clearly states that the school must request the money from the Ministry of Education and Science, which will transfer the maternity pay.”
“I have the impression that some school principals and accountants perceive the school budget as if they are paying for the decree from their own pockets, and I would like to urge everyone to review the law.”
“For example, teachers living in the regions often write to me that they don’t want to ruin their relationship with the principal and are wondering how to proceed, whether to demand maternity pay or not. I answer the question with a question — ‘Is the well-being of your own child more important or the principal’s attitude toward you?'”
It is necessary to mention the part of work that is outside the school environment. Teachers are among the 17,000 citizens who, according to 2023 data, are involved in family work. This work involves paid employment within the family and includes such professions as child care, gardener, driver, watchman, cook, and others.
“Invisible Hands, Formalization of Domestic Employment in Georgia” is the title of the study, according to which 99% of domestic workers (a person who performs work in or for a household within the framework of an employment relationship) are women.
The study explains that domestic work is a women’s rights issue — not only because the vast majority of them are women, but also because they perform, in return for payment, the same family care work that women typically perform without pay.
“Family employment is an invisible and informal form of employment, which, according to the International Labor Organization, places the employee in a vulnerable position. Informal employment is generally considered to be those whose work activities are not visible and not protected by labor and social security laws,” the document reads.
The International Labor Organization adopted a convention on this issue in 2011. Its goal is to ensure decent work for all and protect fundamental rights. However, Georgia has not ratified this convention. The Labor Code of Georgia does not define family employment either. According to the authors of the study, in order to create decent conditions for people involved in family work, including teachers, it is important for the state to recognize it as a form of paid employment and extend the labor rights existing in the legislation to those engaged in such work.
To this end, the study includes several recommendations, namely:
- Adoption of a new law on family employment;
- Implementing amendments to the Labor Code;
- New definition of labor relations by the Labor Inspectorate;
- The mandate of the labor inspection should be extended to the field of domestic employment, and the labor inspection service should ensure the review of complaints of domestic workers and the information of participants in the labor relationship on their rights and obligations;
- In addition, social schemes such as funded pensions and state health insurance are no less important.
The work of a teacher engaged in school and then paid family work is usually compounded by unpaid domestic work and family care responsibilities at the end of the day — the efforts that women make in this regard are invisible and unappreciated.