Despite the uncertainty about further financial support from the federal government, the digitalization of schools remains a priority for the Saarland state government. “Students should be able to leave school on their own terms. To do this, they must also be able to move around independently in the digital world,” said Education Minister Christine Streichert-Clivot (SPD) in Saarbrücken.
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In recent years, 100,000 mobile devices have been purchased for schools in Saarland. “I think that’s a number that’s impressive,” she said. Saarland is the federal state that has ensured a comprehensive rollout of these devices – starting in the third grade.
Around 53 percent of all learning content used in schools is now being used digitally – with differences depending on the type of school. And last school year, computer science was introduced as a compulsory subject from grade 7 onwards. In the new school year, a further step will be to introduce a uniform digital school administration, said the minister. This will also improve communication between students.
However, this project requires that the states make progress in the dispute with the federal government over the new edition of a billion-dollar funding program for digitization in schools, said the minister. So far, there is still no clarity about the financing of the new digital pact, the first edition of which expired in May.
The states are now “extremely impatient,” said Streichert-Clivot, President of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany. A special meeting of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany was called on September 2nd to discuss how to proceed. The states are demanding 1.3 billion euros annually from 2025 to further develop the digital infrastructure.
More students in schools
When school starts on Monday, there are again more pupils in Saarland than last year. Their number is rising by around 1.9 percent to almost 124,600. With an increase of over 1,100 children, the increase in primary schools is particularly high, as the figures show. A good 500 more children and young people are enrolled in community schools. Streichert-Clivot also attributed the increase to immigration from war and crisis areas.
In view of the additional demand, it was possible to fill the vacant and additional teaching positions. 50 additional language support teacher positions were created for the German language. These supplemented 120 teachers in the area.
Expansion of daycare places
There is still a need for space in daycare centers, which cannot be met, especially in urban areas. Work is continuing to expand the number of places and to strengthen the training of specialists. In 2012, there were 29,000 daycare places in Saarland, today there are just under 38,500. In the crèche sector, the number of places has increased from around 4,200 to around 7,650. Parental contributions in daycare centers should be set to zero by the beginning of 2027. The minister said that this is a commitment.
Full-day programs also need to be expanded. The current figure for students is 65 percent. From 2026, there will be a legal entitlement starting from grade one.
Start of the Start Opportunities program
After the summer holidays, 55 schools will officially start operating in the so-called Start Opportunities program. It is a “ten-year school development program” that will lead to “a change in the school landscape.” The schools can also decide specifically where they have needs. “That could be an additional extension, but it will primarily be equipping the schools to create solutions for individual work and learning environments,” she said. The Saarland has around twelve million euros in federal funding available every year for the program.
Despite the uncertainty about further financial support from the federal government, the digitalization of schools remains a priority for the Saarland state government. “Students should be able to leave school on their own terms. To do this, they must also be able to move around independently in the digital world,” said Education Minister Christine Streichert-Clivot (SPD) in Saarbrücken.
In recent years, 100,000 mobile devices have been purchased for schools in Saarland. “I think that’s a number that’s impressive,” she said. Saarland is the federal state that has ensured a comprehensive rollout of these devices – starting in the third grade.
