- New teachers for Saxony's schools - Gender has consequences
Despite hiring more than 1,000 new teachers, teachers are still in short supply at the start of the new school year, particularly at upper and special schools. Ensuring adequate staffing remains a challenge, said Saxony's Minister of Education, Christian Piwarz (CDU), just before the end of the summer holidays in Dresden.
According to his statements, 1,033 people have been hired so far, mostly at grammar schools and primary schools. 773 of them are qualified teachers, 120 are pedagogical assistants at special schools, but they do not replace special education teachers. Additionally, 140 lateral entrants will begin teaching after completing their training.
More hires would be desirable
Despite "uncertainties in life," Piwarz assured that there will be a teacher in front of every class on the coming Monday. While more hires would be desirable, the current applicant situation does not allow for it. Positively, about a quarter of the 877 qualified applicants this time come from other federal states, and two-thirds of them have accepted the job offer.
Together with applicants from the Free State, 88 percent of qualified teachers could be won for the teaching service. "We could only dream of binding quotas of 90 percent back then, when the employment of teachers in Saxony was not possible," said Piwarz. All types of schools can replace outgoing staff.
More children and young people to teach
According to Piwarz, more teachers are being hired than leaving, but with further increasing student numbers, it will become difficult. "We still have regional and school form-specific problems finding enough applicants." But most of those who applied are also in the teaching service. "We are grateful for every applicant." We are far from the times when selection was possible.
While teacher coverage in the primary school sector is largely back at 100 percent, there is still a greater need elsewhere, such as at secondary schools. "Overall, the topic of science is causing concern," said Piwarz. The situation is also difficult at vocational and special schools, as well as in regions like the Ore Mountains, Chemnitz, and surroundings.
Student numbers are rising
According to ministry figures, there are provisionally 536,000 children and young people to be taught in the new school year. In 2023/2024, there were 517,711. This is a foretaste of the future and shows "what great challenges lie ahead," said Piwarz.
However, there is a decrease in first-graders for the first time, from 41,200 to 40,500. "That's remarkable." A challenge remains the schooling of children and young people with a migration background. In 2023, there were more than 45,000, their number having tripled since 2015, said Piwarz. "That's dramatic for the Saxon education system."
More German and general studies - Gendering is considered an error
With the new school year, teaching in the core subjects German and general studies in grades 1 and 2 will be expanded by one hour each to strengthen basic competencies in reading, writing, and spelling. At the end of grade 2, there will be an annual learning progress test in the future, with results of the first analysis of this kind expected by the end of August/beginning of September.
In written work, the use of gender stars, Binnen-I, underscores, colons, or other special characters is not only marked as an error but also factored into grading, Piwarz said. According to the new guidelines published by the Council for German Orthography in July, the use of special characters to indicate gender within a word is "not a core part of German orthography."
Digital Learning Establishment
At secondary schools and grammar schools, systematic expansion of digital self-learning is underway. The Ministry's "Digital? Checked" information campaign aims to equip teachers to use digital teaching materials and tools in the classroom. Digital self-learning modules are to be integrated into daily school life, and awareness of the possibilities of digital teaching is to be strengthened.
To use artificial intelligence options in a data protection-compliant manner in preparation and follow-up as well as in teaching, a tool called KAI has been activated, initially with limited access for up to 4,000 teachers in test mode. By the end of the year, all teachers are expected to be able to use it.
In efforts to address the teacher shortage, Saxony's Minister of Education, Christian Piwarz, announced that new teachers, including 773 qualified teachers and 120 pedagogical assistants at special schools, have been hired before the start of the new school year in Dresden.
Despite the hiring of additional teachers, Piwarz acknowledged that the demand for educators, particularly at upper and special schools, remains high, making it a continuous challenge to ensure adequate staffing.
