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Education union demands to skip high school exams

2021-04-05T07:10:29.288Z


In the fight against the pandemic, the education union GEW is calling for a tough measure: If the number of infections continues to rise so dramatically, the countries will have to forego the Abitur exams.


Enlarge image

Abitur examination in May 2020 in a sports hall in Ravensburg

Photo: Felix Kästle / picture alliance / dpa

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the students completed their Abitur in January, and the first written exams have already taken place in other federal states.

But now the Education and Science Union (GEW) is warning against carrying out further tests: "If the number of infections increases as dramatically as the third wave in other neighboring European countries suggests, the countries must react flexibly and refrain from testing," said GEW- Head of Marlis Tepe for the newspapers of the editorial network Germany.

"Then, for example, the performance from the lessons could be used as the basis for grading," said Tepe.

The GEW was very committed to the fact that the ministers of education and culture declared that they would mutually recognize the Abitur certificates with different examination formats.

This declaration must be adhered to, should exams fail due to a pandemic.

The Abitur 2021 needs full recognition and appreciation.

The Hessian Minister of Education, Alexander Lorz, told the RND that the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) assumed that the Abitur exams would take place everywhere this year.

A cancellation of exams would be to the disadvantage of the students: "You would give the youngsters a penalty for life."

"There will be very difficult weeks in schools again"

Federal Minister of Education Anja Karliczek (CDU) is very concerned about the future of schools in Germany.

"It will be a tightrope walk everywhere and will depend very much on the regional course of infection, especially among children and adolescents," said the CDU politician to the dpa news agency.

"It will be very difficult weeks again in schools, in which face-to-face teaching will unfortunately always hang by a thread." Karliczek added that how things go on in schools will also depend very much on the discipline of society as a whole.

She advocated alternating lessons "with a good test and hygiene concept" for incidences of up to 100.

After Easter, students would have to be tested twice a week.

Corresponding test obligations are already planned in some federal states.

»Where the numbers rise above 100, this must be seen as a loud warning signal.

Face-to-face lessons will only be possible if the known measures for infection prevention are strictly adhered to, "said Karliczek.

The question of whether the Abitur should take place this year has sparked a lot of discussions so far.

The school management association of Lower Saxony had already asked in mid-January to waive the Abitur exams and all other final exams.

In view of the turbulence in schools and the continued high number of corona infections, the association considers it unreasonable to hold exams and oral exams.

Instead, the final grades should be calculated from the performance during the school year.

On January 21, the KMK announced that the exams would be written this year depending on the pandemic.

All degrees should "be equivalent to those of earlier and later years and be mutually recognized," it said at the time.

In the opinion of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, face-to-face teaching in the classroom is the best way to ensure successful learning.

But how much time boys and girls spend in class with their teachers differs from state to state.

And with it, how well prepared the students are to tackle the final exams.

kha / dpa / AFP

Source: spiegel

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