- Increased need for permanent and continuous employment opportunities.
As we approach the new academic year, there's been a rise in requests from local governments, organizations, and opposition parties in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Association of Towns and Municipalities advocates for stronger commitment towards after-school care for primary school kids in the state. Meanwhile, the Teachers' Association sounds alarms about the need for consistent intern payment, even during holidays. The local CDU faction, on the other hand, criticizes the numerous unfilled teaching positions.
David Langner, head of the communal pinnacle association, mentioned in Mainz, claims that the state government has agreed on the right to after-school care, yet delegates this responsibility to municipalities, evading its own obligations. Langner argued that this practice is unacceptable and will exacerbate the financial and staffing crises in urban areas, potentially making the universal right to after-school care impossible to achieve by 2026. Parents' dissatisfaction is therefore inevitable, but he emphasized the importance of family-career balance and equal educational opportunities, explaining that the implementation of this right requires proper planning and time, which is unfortunately lacking.
By August 2026, a legal right to after-school care will apply in Germany for all first-graders, with the same right extending to all primary school children up to the fourth grade by August 2029. At present, most federal states are focusing on the quantitative expansion of offers.
Gross, an education expert for the CDU state parliamentary faction, criticizes not only the numerous vacant teaching positions but also the practice of sending fully trained teachers in Rhineland-Palatinate into unemployment after early July, only to be rehired for the new school year. She expressed concern that talented young educators are migrating to other federal states, such as Bavaria, which continues to support teachers in training.
Schwartz, chairwoman of the Rhineland-Palatinate Teachers' Association, shares Gross's disapproval of this practice, highlighting that the preparation time during holidays is an integral part of the service. She argued that summer holidays are not six weeks of leisure and claimed that schoolbooks and additional materials can't be procured or reviewed on the first day of school. Furthermore, she pointed out that lesson planning, coordination, and organizational tasks are required to ensure a smooth transition to the new school year.
The CDU local faction continues to criticize the issue of unfilled teaching positions in Rhineland-Palatinate. Despite the upcoming legal right to after-school care for primary school children by 2026, Gross from the CDU state parliamentary faction is concerned about the practice of sending trained teachers into unemployment during summer and then rehiring them later.
