Social Minister Scharf would not speak of a daycare crisis. She said this in an interview. The daycare professionals are and react with an open letter.
Bavaria - The air is burning in Bavaria's day-care centers (Kitas) and not just since yesterday: Staff shortages have been at the center of the tense situation for months, which continues to worsen. Social Minister Scharf recently commented on this in an interview with the Mainpost, but she did not want to speak of a crisis. The Kita-Fachkräfteverband reacted to this with an open letter and doubts the competences of the minister.
No daycare crisis in Bavaria? Kindergarten specialists react with an open letter to Minister Scharf
When asked whether there was a daycare crisis in the Free State of Bavaria, the Minister of Social Affairs, Ulrike Scharf, replied in the Mainpost interview with the words: "I wouldn't put it that way." According to her assessment, there is a shortage of skilled workers in many areas, and daycare centers are also affected. If you take a look at the number of employees in daycare centers, you can see that the number of employees has increased by 78 percent in the past ten years. "Today, we have 114,000 employees in the daycare centers. Of course, that doesn't mean we can stop here." However, your answer ignores an important fact.
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There have been more births in Germany for years, and the trend is rising. The Federal Statistical Office reports as follows: "According to preliminary results, the number of births for 2021 reached 795,500 newborns, the highest level since 1997." Of these, 134,321 children saw the light of day in Bavaria alone in 2021. An upward trend in the number of births can also be seen in Bavaria. As a result, there are more and more children who need a daycare place. This is also being felt by local day-care centres.
Daycare professionals complain about "mass child husbandry", according to Mainpost interview with Social Minister Ulrike Scharf. (Symbolic image) © IMAGO / Panthermedia
"Here in the countryside in the district of Rosenheim, facilities are empty because there are no staff," says an open letter from the Association of Kita Professionals in Bavaria to Minister Scharf. It was written by Annerose Ettenhuber, Andrea Steiner and Marianne Strauss. The three women have crucial things in common: they are mothers, educators and daycare center managers. They would like to make it clear within the letter: "We do call it a crisis or a clean collapse with an announcement." From the point of view of the three women, there is the impression that the plan of the politicians to counteract the shortage of personnel amounts to "mass child husbandry". "We have very doubts about your competences," said the daycare center directors.
Daycare specialists: "Creating enough daycare places" is not enough
Scharf's answers in the Mainpost interview were not aimed enough at the devastating conditions within the daycare centers. Among other things, she said: "Two things are crucial: We have to create enough places for childcare." Parents are dissatisfied when there is no way to place their children in a daycare center. The second part is to get more people excited about daycare professions. A further education and training programme has been launched here. In addition, the training was shortened from five to four years. "We have noticed that there is a great demand for this profession," says Scharf. According to the daycare center managers, however, this is only a drop in the ocean. Because there is a significant problem that will not be solved in this way.
The quality of training suffers from a lack of practice.
Daycare center directors in open letter to Minister Scharf
"The quality of training suffers from a lack of practice. Young people often no longer have a clue about work, do not see the work. This requires practical experience and guidance," says the open letter from the daycare center directors. However, this is not there in view of the lack of personnel. In addition, there is a lack of increased wage, living and energy costs. Local carriers will not be able to pay their employees if the government's base value is not raised. And that's not all.
"Speechless and sad": daycare professionals angry about statements by Minister Scharf
Many of the existing educators are "at the edge of their breaking point". In an open letter to the minister, the daycare center directors appeal: "Come to us and get an idea of the framework conditions and problems we are facing." Mobilizing lateral entrants or lateral entrants is not enough to close gaps in the roster, especially since the educational mission of the daycare centers cannot be fulfilled. "It leaves us speechless and sad how our children, supposedly our 'highest good', have to fit into our society and function."
The Association of Kita Professionals demands: "Education, training and care by parents and pedagogical staff must be valued more and rewarded appropriately. Society, politics and the world of work must be geared to the real needs of children and not the other way around."
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