- Around 1000 new teachers for Saxony's schools - shortage persists
Despite hiring over 1000 new teachers, teacher shortages persist at the start of the new school year, particularly at upper and special needs schools. Ensuring adequate staffing remains a challenge, according to Education Minister Christian Piwarz (CDU), who spoke in Dresden on Wednesday. He reported that 1033 new hires have been made, mostly at gymnasiums and primary schools. Of these, 773 are qualified teachers, 120 are pedagogical assistants at special needs schools (who do not replace special needs teachers), and 140 are lateral entrants who will begin teaching after completing their training.
Piwarz assured that, despite "life's uncertainties," a teacher would be present in every classroom by the following Monday. While more hires would be desirable, the current applicant pool does not allow for this. Positively, this time around, about a quarter of the 877 qualified applicants came from other federal states, and two-thirds of them accepted the job offer. Together with applicants from the Free State, a total of 88 percent of qualified teachers could be recruited for the teaching service. "We could only dream of binding quotas of 90 percent back when the hiring of teachers in Saxony was not possible," Piwarz said.
Student numbers are rising, Piwarz noted. More teachers are being hired than are leaving, but with student numbers continuing to rise, it will become difficult. "We still have regional and school form-specific problems finding enough applicants," he said. However, most of those who applied are also in the teaching service. "We're happy with every applicant," Piwarz said, noting that the days of being able to select from a pool of applicants are long gone.
While teacher coverage in primary schools has returned to 100 percent, there is still a greater need elsewhere, such as at upper schools. "The topic of science is particularly concerning," Piwarz said. Attracting people to teach these subjects is not satisfactory. It's also difficult to recruit teachers for vocational and special needs schools, as well as in regions like the Ore Mountains, Chemnitz, and surrounding areas.
Student numbers in the Free State continue to rise. By 2024/2025, there will be approximately 536,000 children and young people in total, compared to 517,711 in the previous school year. "This gives us a taste of the future and shows us the great challenges ahead," Piwarz said. However, for the first time, there is a decrease in the number of first-graders, from 41,200 to 40,500. "That's significant," Piwarz noted.
Piwarz expressed his appreciation for the influx of qualified teachers from other federal states, including some from Saxony's neighboring state, during his speech in Dresden. Despite the positive developments, he acknowledged the persisting challenges in finding sufficient teachers, particularly for upper and special needs schools, even in renowned educational hubs like Dresden.
