The challenges for Brandenburg teachers are increasing. The corona pandemic is still here. Student numbers are going up. The teachers union is concerned.
The Education and Science Union (GEW) in Brandenburg is concerned about the coming school year and the strain on teachers. “They walk on the gums,” said the chairman of the GEW state association, Günther Fuchs, of the German Press Agency, also with a view to the past few months in the Corona period. The pandemic is not over yet, the schools have to be prepared as safe places for the coming autumn.
The Ministry of Education is currently assuming a need for 1,200 additional teachers – he expects up to 1,800 teachers to be needed, said Fuchs. He justifies the need with fuller classes – the number of school-age children is increasing. In addition, Ukrainian children and young people would also be integrated into the schools. Model calculations for hiring teachers must therefore be adjusted, he demanded. “We need significantly more teachers that we have to hire.”
The GEW country manager assumes that there will be many side entrants in the coming school year. They should have job prospects. “We have always made it clear that we must have a common interest in getting more young people interested in working in schools,” said Fuchs. A first “mosaic stone” are the state’s plans to give lateral entrants with a bachelor’s degree the opportunity for a civil service career. This is an important signal, says Fuchs.
According to the Ministry of Education, the salary, budget and teacher training requirements are to be created at the beginning of the 2023/24 school year. Side entrants are to be supported by a mentoring program in the schools. The state parliament still has to approve the plans.
Fuchs pointed out that numerous colleagues with lateral entry without a university degree also work at schools. There must also be a chance for an upgrade for them. However, these are medium-term solutions to ease the situation in schools. “Now acute solutions are needed.”
(dpa)
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