5,000 teachers may lose their jobs in 2015

A shift in the country’s demographics as well as increasingly frugal local governments have left Polish teachers with increasingly precarious job security. According to Gazeta Wybrocza, 734 teachers have already been laid off between January and April.  In total, 5,000 may lose their jobs by the end of the year. Information from the Polish Teacher’s Union (ZNP) shows that teacher’s hours are being cut back, causing an overall dip in their salaries, and limiting their ability to organize. Local authorities have decided to close 200 schools nationwide because of a lack of students. This shift in demographics has decreased the number of students by over a million in the past decade; currently there are 5.1 million students. There are currently 650,000 teachers in Poland, 32,000 less than ten years ago.