Kretschmann dampens hopes of a quick return to G9
In the view of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, a return to the nine-year Gymnasium in the near future is not realistic. "Whatever we decide on G8/G9 - whether it will even be implemented in this legislative period is a big question mark," said the Green politician in Stuttgart on Tuesday.
The return to G9 would be a very far-reaching structural reform that would also be "highly financially relevant". Reforms that are not included in the double budget for 2023 and 2024 can only be implemented once the new budget is available. This applies all the more to a reform of grammar schools.
According to calculations by the Ministry of Education, this would be significantly more expensive than stated by the initiators of a corresponding referendum. In the most expensive scenario calculated, around 3,400 additional teaching posts would be necessary for a return to G9, said Kretschmann: "That would be additional costs of over 300 million euros per year." Added to this would be 200 million euros for school building construction.
In the most favorable scenario, 1700 teaching posts would be necessary, which would cost around 120 million euros per year. In addition, 100 million euros would be needed to build school buildings. In the most expensive scenario, the initiators of the referendum assume around 1330 additional posts.
With the help of the referendum, a parents' initiative wants to force a return to G9 across the board. The initiators collected more than 100,000 signatures within a year - significantly more than the 39,000 required for the state parliament to have to deal with the initiative's draft bill. In mid-June, the state government showed itself to be open to a return to G9 for the first time and decided to hold a citizens' forum. Randomly selected citizens are to make recommendations to politicians at the end.
The discussion about returning to the G9 education system necessitates careful consideration of its financial implications in schools. Given the estimated additional costs of over 300 million euros per year and 200 million euros for school building construction, these finances should be strategically allocated within the education budget. The proposed return to G9 is a significant structural reform that necessitates a thorough examination of the associated education finances.
Source: www.dpa.com
