Response to Education Report: Teachers' Associations Warn of Impending "National Emergency"

The shortage of teachers is particularly high in elementary schools (symbol image)

Photo:

Sebastian Gollnow / DPA

Staff shortages in day care centers and schools, lack of equal opportunities: After a current balance sheet revealed several weaknesses in the German education system, teachers' associations are putting pressure on them.

"The fact that schools have been suffering from a significant shortage of teachers for years and that the school system is sewn to the brim is nothing new," said Udo Beckmann, chairman of the Education and Training Association (VBE).

"If politicians don't finally come up with answers, the school house of cards will collapse."

There is an urgent need for new teachers, says Beckmann.

The potential for side entrants is largely exhausted, as is the recruitment of pensioners.

The same applies to the capacities that were activated by appeals to part-time teachers to increase their hourly workload, said the VBE boss.

»All of this is only patchwork and conceals the helplessness of the political leaders.«

Education special fund "more than overdue"

Beckmann called for a nationwide specialist offensive that shows short-term, medium-term and long-term perspectives for eliminating the shortage of teachers.

"Without massive, unprecedented investment in the education system, the problem will not be solved," he said.

A special fund for education is more than overdue.

The shortage of skilled workers is a key topic in the education report, which is presented every two years by an independent group of experts.

According to forecasts, there will be a shortage of tens of thousands of skilled workers in day-care centers and elementary schools alone by 2025.

"The question of personnel requirements is one of the most urgent," said the managing director of the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), Kai Maaz.

He is spokesman for the group of experts that regularly draws up the inventory for the education system.

The Education and Science Union (GEW) criticized the report for presenting a "polished inventory of the education system". "We need resolute joint action by politicians and society to prevent an imminent 'national emergency'," said Chairwoman Maike Finnern .

In many schools, the cancellation of lessons has become the rule.

"Many employees in the education sector go into part-time work to escape personal overload," says Finnern.

»The system finds itself in a vicious circle of overloading due to a lack of skilled workers and lack of skilled workers due to overloading.

There is a risk of a collapse in personnel.« The federal states must finally significantly increase the training capacities in studies and legal clerkship.

In addition, the number of dropouts in some teacher training courses is almost 50 percent, which points to significant shortcomings in the courses: "The course must be studyable, otherwise we will lose far too many young people during the training." In addition, the numerus clausus ( NC), which still exists for many teacher training courses, should finally fall, Finnern warned.

KMK President: »We need creative ideas«

Karin Prien, President of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Minister of Education in Schleswig-Holstein, assured that the federal states had recognized the problem and were taking action.

They would focus more on teacher recruitment and teacher qualification.

"We need creative ideas to attract young people to the teaching profession and new study models to meet these needs," said the CDU politician.

She named more flexible models for entering the teaching profession and making the switch during your studies.

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Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) also acknowledged the need for action after the presentation of the education report.

"Our education system needs to improve," she said.

"We need faster digitization of education, better integration of refugee children and young people and, above all, more equal opportunities," says Stark-Watzinger.

However, all this will only succeed if the federal, state and local authorities work together well.

"We should be even more ambitious in future in order to open up opportunities for young people and to renew the promise of advancement," emphasized the minister.

Everyone benefits from this, as does society as a whole.

After all, there is already a shortage of skilled workers.

Educational success still depends heavily on social background.

Corona has made the situation even worse.

"That can't let us rest," said the FDP politician.

She announced a sustainable program to equip up to 4,000 general and vocational schools with better infrastructure and more social workers.

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