The Tirschenreuth district is now a member of the “Educational Communities” program. According to district office press spokesman Fabian Polster, this is another milestone for the educational landscape in the Tirschenreuth district. The district has been an educational region since 2015 and a MINT region since 2018. MINT stands for mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology.
The new “Educational Communities” program guarantees at least four years of funding, awarded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It makes it possible to start new educational projects and make education more visible. The total funding amount is 450,000 euros, as Hilmar Fütterer, head of education management in the Tirschenreuth district, explained when asked.
Agreement signed
“Education is an important location factor,” said District Administrator Roland Grillmeier at the opening event at the district office. He was pleased that many representatives from schools, but also from business and inclusion, had come to the ceremony.
Hilmar Fütterer and Linda Wunderlich from the regional management presented the new funding program. During the event, a first cooperation agreement was also signed: an agreement between the Regional Development Agency for Municipal Education Management Bavaria (REAB, Regional Office North) and the district of Tirschenreuth. District Administrator Roland Grillmeier and Florian Neumann from REAB Bavaria took this step.
Neumann pointed out that the Tirschenreuth district is now the 14th partner with whom a cooperation agreement has been concluded. However, municipal education management only makes sense “if you participate.” In this context, he highlighted the good attendance at the event. “I have to say, there have never been as many people as there are here.” The REAB can build on ten years of experience, which it wants to bring to bear here. The core issue is to provide sustainable and strategic support to all municipalities in the field of education.
Combating the shortage of skilled workers
Fütterer explained that the “Education Communities” program aims to increase the quality and efficiency of the education system, reduce educational inequalities and improve educational opportunities for all. A particular focus in the district is on combating the shortage of skilled workers.
Central elements in the new funding project are the establishment of an education office and the introduction of a data-based municipal education management system (DKBM), which is intended to help develop tailor-made educational offerings for all phases of life. In addition, over the next four years the Tirschenreuth district will implement extracurricular “Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD) projects specifically for rural areas, “in order to bring sustainable educational offerings directly to citizens and young people”.
Another highlight is the expansion of the existing training portal into a comprehensive education portal, which will in future reflect the entire educational landscape and serve as a central point of contact for educational offers and those seeking them in the district. In the last hour of the event, those present were able to work on four prepared topic areas and contribute their ideas, suggestions and wishes.
background:
The “Education Communities” programme
- Goal: Supporting rural districts and independent cities in the further development of their educational landscape. It is about tackling pressing challenges in the field of education: from digitization to the establishment of new collaborations and offers to the expansion of future-oriented educational topics.
- Focus: Establishment of digital-analog networked educational landscapes for lifelong learning.
- Period: four years
- Financial support via the Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the European Social Fund (ESF) with a total of around 450,000 euros.
