Christian Lindner wants to “re-establish” the Federal Republic in several areas. Screenshot: pne
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By Philipp Neumayr
Heidelberg. It is the time to wait. One waits for vaccines and relaxation, for the much-cited “return to normal”. The Free Democrats want to wait no longer. This was the motto of the New Year’s reception Heidelberg FDP on Wednesday evening, which of course took place digitally, on the Zoom platform. In the meantime, 80 people were connected, probably primarily because of a guest: the federal chairman Christian Lindner.
The FDP wants to do it again. No longer just opposing, but co-governing – also in the country. The party has been in opposition in Baden-Württemberg since 2011. Something that Benjamin Brandstetter would like to change. The Heidelberg Landtag candidate of the Free Democrats wants to lead the country back out of “mediocrity” – and for Brandstetter it is “mediocre” above all in one area: education.
Baden-Württemberg needs a “digitalization turbo” for schools, says Brandstetter. He calls for “finally stable and secure educational platforms” and more support for educators in everyday digital school life. It is not enough to hand a tablet into the hand of teachers; there is also a need for appropriate training and education opportunities and people who take care of the maintenance of the devices. The teachers themselves should no longer be responsible for this, but a “digital caretaker”.
Andrea Dittmar also calls for teachers and schools not to be left alone with technical questions. Dittmar is the mother of two primary school children, an entrepreneur and chairwoman of the Heidelberg Parents’ Council. As a result of the pandemic, she herself prepared her family for the “worst-case scenario” early on: schooling the children at home. But there are also many parents who have trusted the statements made by politicians and who have given hope. These parents, says Dittmar, “were bitterly disappointed”.
She criticizes the state government for its “salami tactics” in the latest educational policy decisions. Instead of honestly naming challenges and developing a workable concept, false expectations were aroused and solutions were gradually shifted into an uncertain future. Many teachers have still not received laptops, there is still a lack of quality criteria for distance learning and specifications for online teaching. Questions about data protection have still not been finally clarified. Instead of seeing the crisis as an opportunity and finding “valuable and creative” solutions, deficiencies would be managed, shuffled from vacation to vacation.
For the federal chairman Christian Lindner, the education system needs a “re-establishment”. The state of Baden-Württemberg prides itself on being better than Bremen in terms of education, says Lindner. “But can that be the benchmark? We have to compare ourselves worldwide.” By “starting up” education, he means: upgrading the teaching and educational profession and financially supporting municipalities and states in digitization. In order for the education system in the entire republic to meet future requirements, a “reform of educational federalism” is needed. Lindner wants to bundle the competencies of the federal and state governments – in financial terms as well as in other areas, currently for example in the provision of a uniform learning platform for schools.
According to Linder, a “start-up” not only requires the education system, but also digitization, the economy (“our sources of prosperity”), social security systems, international order and a free society. As big as the tasks are – one thing is certain for Lindner and his party: “It is up to us whether we are successful or not.”
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