Restrictions on the rights of part-time teachers are necessary.

According to an SWR report, in the fight against the shortage of teachers in schools in the southwest, teachers will soon only be working less than 75 percent. Minister of Education Theresa Schopper (Greens) wants to restrict the part-time model from the 2024/2025 school year, as reported by Südwestrundfunk, which had the ministry’s draft. Exceptions are therefore parental leave, family reasons and caregiver leave. According to SWR information, the draft by the Ministry of Education, which includes a package of more than 20 points, has already been agreed in the green-black coalition.

And Schopper wants to turn another screw: In the future, a so-called sabbatical should only be granted after five years of service. Another year of exemption should then only be allowed after five years. According to the information, around 900 sabbaticals have been approved in the current school year.

According to the State Statistical Office, more and more teachers are opting for part-time work, despite the clear shortage of staff at the schools. In the 2021/2022 school year, almost 56.6 percent and thus more than half of the teachers at public schools did not work full time.

State civil servants have so far been entitled to work part-time for up to 50 percent. An application for part-time work for family reasons, for example because a child is being cared for or a relative is being cared for, can only be rejected if there are compelling official reasons to the contrary. According to SWR, the teacher shortage should be considered an official reason.

Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) had already made a push for limited part-time teachers last year, but withdrew this again. Teachers’ associations had sharply criticized the project. Only about a week ago, Minister of Education Schopper described the part-time regulations for teachers as “comfortable”.

(dpa)