According to Inga Vanaga, LIZDA Chairperson, this is a very serious signal to local governments. "More and more often we have to conclude that not only teachers are burnt out, but also principals. More and more often we see vacancies not only at the level of teachers, but now also at the level of principals and their deputies. We see that schools have not been able to find strong leaders and managers for a long time," Vanaga said.
While some heads in the survey stressed that they felt both committed and interested, twice as many respondents said that they felt much more "anxious, overwhelmed by everything, overburdened with bureaucracy, powerless in dealing with pupils' parents, struggling with pupils' disinterest and a shortage of teachers" in their daily work.
According to LIZDA, 51% of the heads of educational institutions in the survey indicated that they lack support from the Ministry of Education, 24% - from the administration or founder of the educational institution, 23% - from the social service and the State Service for Education and Quality. However, the greatest support for heads of institutions comes from the technical staff and deputy heads of the educational institution, as indicated by 94% of respondents.
The survey found that 93% of heads of educational institutions face too much bureaucracy, 87% feel too much responsibility for running the institution, 83% face a lack of support staff and 81% a shortage of teachers.
According to LIZDA, 518 respondents took part in the survey, which took place in January and February 2024. Respondents from all levels of education, except universities, took part.
