Head teachers give state a poor grade in education policy
Principals in Baden-Württemberg have once again given the state government a poor report card when it comes to school policy. In a study conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the Verband Bildung und Erziehung (VBE), 57 percent of the head teachers surveyed gave the state a school grade of 5 or 6. On average, the green-black school policy of Education Minister Theresa Schopper (Greens) landed at 4.5. Five years ago, the state received an average of 3.8 from the head teachers - at that time Susanne Eisenmann (CDU) was head of the Ministry of Education.
"Politicians cannot be satisfied with this report card," said VBE state head Gerhard Brand in Stuttgart on Friday. The results of the survey are a wake-up call. "If the trend continues, we risk our credibility and, more importantly, that our colleagues at the schools resign."
For the nationally representative annual survey, 1310 school principals throughout Germany were interviewed, including 250 from Baden-Württemberg. They still see the lack of teachers as the biggest problem at schools - but not as much as last year. Back then, 77 percent of those surveyed saw the shortage of teachers as the biggest problem; this year, only 60 percent of respondents still see it as the biggest problem. The problem is still there, said Brand: "It just shows that school leaders have become accustomed to the problem."
In the meantime, other problems have come to the fore: significantly more principals see major problems with the inclusion of children with disabilities and the integration of refugees: 39% cite this as a major problem - last year it was still 28%.
Schools in Baden-Württemberg continuously express concerns about the state's education policy, as indicated by the low grades given by head teachers in a recent study. Improving education and addressing issues such as teacher shortages and the inclusion of children with disabilities are crucial elements in enhancing our educational system.
Source: www.dpa.com
