Starvation Wages: Venezuelan Faculty Earn Less Than $2 a Month as Educational Crisis Deepens
Foto: RRSS
Data released this January 15-2026 to mark Teacher’s Day in Venezuela reveals a staggering reality: a high-ranking “Titular” university professor with exclusive dedication earns a mere $1.58 USD per month. According to the Association of Professors of the Central University of Venezuela (APUCV), other faculty ranks—including Associate and Assistant professors—take home between $0.41 and $1.19, depending on their tenure and hours.
Even full-time instructors are now earning less than a dollar, with some figures as low as $0.97 per month.
These figures place the country’s academic elite in a state of extreme poverty, as defined by the World Bank’s benchmark of surviving on less than $2.15 per day. In Venezuela, professors are forced to survive on less than that for an entire month.
1,400 Days Without a Raise
The APUCV attributes this collapse to a deliberate economic policy that has frozen salaries, pensions, and retirement benefits for over 1,400 days. This lack of official adjustment has effectively “pulverized” the real income of university staff, threatening the very survival of higher education in the country.
A Constitutional Promise Broken
This wage crisis stands in stark contrast to the Venezuelan Constitution. Under Article 104, the State is mandated to guarantee teachers a “standard of living consistent with their high mission.” Furthermore, Article 91 dictates that wages must be sufficient to satisfy basic needs for workers and their families.
The current reality reflects a profound failure of State policy to uphold these fundamental rights, leaving educators unable to lead a dignified life.
“Wages of Hunger and Disease”
The Latinamerican human rights organization Aula Abierta has spent years documenting this decline. In their latest report, Violations of Labor Rights of University Professors (2023-2024), they categorize faculty as one of the nation’s most vulnerable groups. Key findings include:
- Wages vs. Reality: Current salaries cover less than a quarter of basic food costs.
- Health Crisis: 81% of faculty lack adequate social security or healthcare through their universities.
- The Hustle: 36% of professors have been forced to find outside income just to survive.
Despite persistent protests and demands for a new collective bargaining agreement, the national government has shown little political will to negotiate. Instead, authorities have moved to exclude critical voices, such as the Federation of University Professors’ Associations (FAPUV), from official discussions—a move advocates label as “political discrimination.”
