New positions opening at the gymnasium spark criticism from the CDU minister
In the face of a growing teacher shortage due to the return to the nine-year Gymnasium (high school) system in Baden-Württemberg, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has called for a change of course from Minister of Education Theresa Schopper. The CDU wants to discuss this and further measures with Minister Schopper in a working group meeting before the summer.
Andreas Sturm, the education spokesman of the CDU parliamentary group in the state parliament, has criticised the current approach. He fears that prospective teachers who do not get a job now could be deterred, leading to an expensive collapse in teaching supply in the future. According to Sturm, if perspectives are not offered now, people may leave the profession or move to other states like Bavaria or Hesse.
The state's budget has a provision for temporarily employing additional teachers to address this shortage. However, Minister President Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) recently emphasised that hiring teachers at the Gymnasiums who cannot be employed elsewhere, if other schools urgently need teachers, is not feasible given the current budget situation.
The Ministry of Education reports that around 360 positions need to be filled for the coming school year, but the state is only hiring a few new teachers at the Gymnasiums. The CDU is demanding a more proactive approach, suggesting the deployment of teachers flexibly in other types of schools or in preparatory classes, where the demand is high.
In preparatory classes, students who speak little or no German receive intensive language support and are prepared for the transition to a regular class. The CDU also proposes the deployment of teachers in these classes to alleviate pressure on the regular classes.
The CDU's specific proposals to address the teacher shortage in Gymnasiums in Baden-Württemberg are not yet clear. However, based on general knowledge about the situation, the CDU has typically focused on measures such as increasing teacher training capacities, attracting lateral entrants from other professions, improving working conditions and salaries, hiring more temporary or contract teachers, and possibly advocating for digital teaching tools and smaller class sizes.
The CDU's demand for a change of course from Minister Schopper comes as the return to the nine-year high school system means the need to educate more grade levels, increasing demand for qualified teachers. The material will be distributed over nine years instead of eight in the first grades to start with G9, which results in less teaching time.
As the situation unfolds, more details about the CDU's specific proposals and the minister's response are expected to emerge.
The CDU, in response to the growing teacher shortage in Baden-Württemberg, has proposed a shift in strategy from Minister Schopper, suggesting the deployment of teachers flexibly across different types of schools, including preparatory classes, where demand is high. To alleviate pressure on regular classes, the CDU also proposes the deployment of teachers in preparatory classes for students with limited German language skills. Beyond this, the CDU's specific proposals to address the teacher shortage in Gymnasiums are not yet clear, but they typically focus on increasing teacher training capacities, attracting lateral entrants, improving working conditions, hiring more temporary teachers, and advocating for digital teaching tools and smaller class sizes.
