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Pupils at a primary school sit in their classroom.
© Marcel Kusch/dpa
All children should have the same educational opportunities, regardless of their social status.
In the future, schools in difficult situations will receive more money from the federal and state governments - almost 1,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Düsseldorf - North Rhine-Westphalia will receive billions in financial support for more than 900 schools in difficult social situations in the coming years.
After months of negotiations, the federal and state governments agreed on the billion-dollar “Starting Opportunities Program” in Berlin on Friday, which will provide special support to around 4,000 schools in challenging situations nationwide.
The Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs approved a corresponding proposed resolution.
Starting in NRW this year
The NRW School Ministry announced that the first 400 schools in North Rhine-Westphalia should be selected by spring and funded from the new school year 2024/25.
More schools would then be included in the program next year.
Two central criteria would be taken into account during the selection: the proportion of students with a migration history and the risk of poverty.
The basis for the selection of schools will be the NRW school social index.
From the StartChances program, the most populous federal state will receive a total of around 2.3 billion euros from the federal government over a period of ten years and will in turn invest up to the same amount in targeted support for the almost 1,000 schools selected nationwide.
60 percent of the funds are earmarked for the primary level.
The remainder is used to support secondary schools and training preparation in vocational colleges.
According to previous information from the ministry, a total of almost 250,000 students in North Rhine-Westphalia will benefit from the additional support.
Nationwide, the approximately 4,000 schools and vocational schools being supported are expected to reach around a million students in the next decade.
Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) called the program “the largest and most long-term education program in the history of the Federal Republic”.
The federal government wants to give up to one billion euros annually.
The states should contribute equally.
Overall, the volume adds up to around 20 billion euros within ten years.
Focus on elementary schools
“The agreement is a great opportunity for the German educational landscape and very good news for many schools,” said North Rhine-Westphalia Schools Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU).
“When we talk about starting opportunities, then it goes without saying that we focus particularly on early support - and thus strengthen primary schools in particular, but also special schools.” But lower secondary school types and vocational colleges should also benefit.
According to the ministry, the funding will, among other things, flow into additional staff such as teachers or social workers who provide support in schools.
Part should be invested in a better and modern learning environment.
In addition, there is money available for schools to use freely - a so-called opportunity budget.
The design will look very different at the schools, said Feller.
NRW has done the preparatory work
When selecting schools for the program, NRW is one of the few states that can rely on a social index for schools that was only recently updated, said the state minister.
According to a new calculation of the social index, significantly more schools in North Rhine-Westphalia are considered to be particularly socially burdened than previously stated.
The allocation is based on four indicators: child and youth poverty in the school's catchment area, proportion of students with a non-German family language, proportion of students who immigrated from abroad and proportion of students with learning development disorders.
When it comes to selecting schools, NRW doesn't start from scratch, as there are already 64 so-called talent schools across the country, which were also the model for the traffic light government's starting opportunities program in Berlin.
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The SPD opposition in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament called the agreement on the starting opportunities program a historic achievement.
Now the country has a duty, said SPD parliamentary group leader Jochen Ott.
“So that in ten years more students actually meet the minimum requirements in reading, writing and arithmetic, the state government must above all ensure that more teachers are deployed where the challenges are particularly great.” The school social index shows the needs clear on.
“But money alone doesn’t give lessons.
We also need additional educational specialists at short notice.” dpa