As of: February 2, 2024, 2:50 p.m
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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, particularly burdened schools will receive more money from the federal and state governments.
In North Rhine-Westphalia there are almost 1,000.
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.
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.
dpa