- Free voters criticize the timetable for primary schools
The new parliamentary faction leader of the Free Voters, Helge Schwab, criticized that tens of thousands of hours of sports and music were cut from Rhineland-Palatinate's elementary schools in the new school year. "Adding 25 minutes more of sports and music in the 2nd grade, but reducing both subjects in the 3rd and 4th grades," Schwab calculated from the timetable for the new school year in Mainz. He announced a minor interpellation to the Ministry of Education to discuss and analyze this development in parliament.
Minister Stefanie Hubig already responded directly to Schwab's announcement: "The statements of the Free Voters are incomprehensible to the Ministry of Education and lack any factual basis." The new elementary school timetable even allows individual schools to expand sports or music lessons in grades 3 and 4 within the framework of their profile formation, the SPD politician emphasized.
Hubig: New discretionary time allows for more physical education
There will also be a new discretionary time available for schools to use individually for pedagogical focus starting from the school year 2024/2025, says Hubig. If this new discretionary time were to be used entirely for sports, the time allocated for sports in grades 3 and 4 could even increase. The state sports association has explicitly thanked the ministry for the new regulation and the expanded possibilities for physical education.
The criticism from Helge Schwab about reduced sports and music in elementary schools has been refuted by Minister Stefanie Hubig, who highlighted that the new elementary school timetable allows individual schools to expand these subjects in grades 3 and 4. With the introduction of a new discretionary time from the school year 2024/2025, there's a potential for increased sports time in those grades if the new time is solely dedicated to physical education.
