Hubig: Pupils need to get better at German
Education Minister Stefanie Hubig has emphasized that pupils must improve their German. The SPD politician said on Wednesday during a current debate in the state parliament in Mainz that Rhineland-Palatinate had already set out on this path five years ago and was continuously expanding the necessary package of measures. However, there is no single explanation or solution to the problem.
"We want to focus on reading and listening," said Hubig, referring to a series of measures designed to strengthen German lessons as a whole, such as an additional hour of German for second-graders from the next school year. In addition, comparative tests to measure performance should be strengthened in order to determine where pupils stand and how they can be supported. Hubig also appealed to parents to read aloud more.
At the request of the AfD, the state parliament once again debated the IQB Education Trend 2022, which was published around a month ago. According to this, the German performance of ninth-graders has deteriorated alarmingly across Germany and in Rhineland-Palatinate. Last year, around one in three failed to meet the minimum standards for the intermediate school-leaving certificate, which is usually obtained at the end of the tenth grade, in reading and listening comprehension tests. In the area of spelling, more than one in five failed to meet the standard.
The education policy spokesperson for the AfD parliamentary group, Joachim Paul, said that each new IQB trend represents a new low point "for German, our mother tongue". "Schools are overwhelmed by mass immigration," he analyzed. According to Jenny Groß, education policy spokesperson and deputy chair of the CDU parliamentary group, the state government's programs are not enough.
Several speakers pointed out that, according to the IQB, pupils had improved significantly in English. "This is also a key qualification in a globally networked world," said Daniel Köbler from the Green Party.
In response to the concerns about German performance in schools, Education Minister Stefanie Hubig suggested enhancing German lessons by adding an extra hour for second-graders and strengthening comparative tests to identify areas for improvement. Furthermore, she encouraged parents to read aloud more to their children, recognizing that Parliament has a role in supporting this initiative.
Source: www.dpa.com
