Standardized teacher training - Hot debate about planned uniform teacher training program in MV
The planned education reform for teacher studies in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern by the Rot-Rot coalition is heavily contested in the state parliament. CDU faction leader Daniel Peters rejected on Wednesday the proposed merger of separate teacher training programs for regional schools and gymnasiums. The Union labeled the proposed current hour at the start of the three-day parliamentary session as "Uniform Teacher, Uniform School, Uniform Mush" and summarized its concerns.
CDU: Rot-Rot wants to abolish the gymnasium
"Our school system doesn't fit the uniform teacher," said Peters and accused the SPD and the Left of ultimately wanting to abolish the gymnasium, as a longer joint learning was introduced under a previous red-red government in 2006. Since then, the gymnasium in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with a few exceptions, has started at Class 7 instead of Class 5 - critics see this as a weakening of gymnasial education.
Government camp: Gymnasiums remain
Education Minister Bettina Martin (SPD), Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Linke), and speakers of the government factions rejected the allegation that they wanted to abolish the gymnasiums. The faction leader of the Left, Jeannine Rösler, said that in other federal states, there is already the uniform training for secondary school teachers, for example in Hamburg. In Lower Saxony, this is being discussed.
Furthermore, the current structure of teacher training at the University of Rostock shows that there are hardly any differences between teacher training for regional schools and gymnasiums, according to Rösler. "The new tiered teacher training is therefore an upgrade. Teachers will be trained more comprehensively and better prepared for the various challenges at schools," the Left politician was convinced.
Reform aims to reduce study interruptions
Minister Martin emphasized that the planned reform primarily aims to solve a major problem: the low demand for teacher studies in MV and high dropout rates of up to 70 percent. If future math teachers sat in a lecture with mathematics students, it was no wonder that some dropped out, she said. The number of subject-specific components in the study should decrease in favor of more pedagogy, as well as the number of existing exams. There should also be more practical components in the study.
- In response to the controversy, Daniel Peters, the leader of the CDU faction in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, strongly opposed the SPD's proposed merger of separate teacher training programs in Schwerin, expressing concerns about the potential impact on regional schools and gymnasiums.
- Bettina Martin, the SPD's Education Minister in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and her fellow ministers from the Left party, including faction leader Jeannine Rösler, firmly denied the CDU's allegations of wanting to abolish gymnasiums, citing examples of uniform teacher training in other federal states and the improvement offered by the new tiered teacher training at the University of Rostock.
- With the aim of reducing study interruptions and high dropout rates in teacher studies, the Rot-Rot coalition's planned education reform in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania focuses on decreasing subject-specific components and increasing pedagogy, practical components, and the overall comprehensiveness of teacher preparation, as advocated by Minister Martin.
