Education - Pisa disaster: Wüst sees need for action in daycare centers
Following the disastrous results of the new Pisa study, North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) sees a need for action at nursery and elementary school level. "Because anyone who cannot handle language in an age-appropriate way in elementary school will not be able to learn other things either," the CDU politician told the German Press Agency.
In this context, Wüst criticized the federal government's cuts to the language daycare programme. In contrast to the federal government, the black-green NRW state government had not cut back on children and young people despite the tight budget situation and many necessary savings. The state has even compensated for federal cuts in funding for language daycare centers.
In language daycare centers, children whose parents speak little or no German are supported with additional staff. Following the federal government's decision to discontinue funding, the state of NRW had assumed the costs.
Following the corona pandemic, the "devastating effects" of school closures have now become apparent with the Pisa study, said Wüst. The refugee children also urgently needed help. "This shows how important it is that we all prioritize that these children first learn the basic skills, namely how to deal with language and arithmetic."
In the study published on Tuesday, German 15/16-year-olds achieved the weakest performance values in reading, mathematics and science that have ever been measured for Germany as part of Pisa. The study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) compares industrialized countries.
A quarter of children in the fourth grade are unable to handle language in an age-appropriate manner, said the NRW head of government. There are several reasons for this. One important point is that nowhere are there as many unfilled positions as in the primary school sector. With a total of 900 million euros, the starting salary for all teachers in NRW will therefore be gradually adjusted over the next few years, also to make the previously lower-paid primary school teaching profession more attractive.
At the end of 2022, NRW Schools Minister Dorothee Feller also launched an action plan to improve teaching provision. According to Wüst, "initial successes" can now be seen. Within a year, almost 4,000 teachers, social workers and school psychologists have been brought into schools.
The Pisa results will probably also be discussed at the Conference of Education Ministers on Thursday and Friday. In addition, a report on teacher recruitment and teacher training is to be presented.
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- The Pisa study's disappointing results for Germany, particularly in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science, have led to calls for action from Nordrhine-Westphalia's Minister President, Hendrik Wüst (CDU).
- The North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state government, in contrast to the federal government, has continued to invest in language daycare centers, which provide extra support for children whose parents speak little or no German.
- In the wake of the federal government's decision to discontinue funding for language daycare centers, NRW has assumed the associated costs to ensure that these essential services remain available to children.
- The disastrous effects of school closures during the coronavirus pandemic, as highlighted in the new Pisa study, underscore the critical need to prioritize language and math education for children, particularly for those who are refugees or from linguistically diverse backgrounds.
- According to Wüst, the Pisa study results reveal that a quarter of children in the fourth grade struggle with language skills at an age-appropriate level, which can have lasting consequences for their overall educational success.
- To address this issue, the NRW government has launched an action plan to improve teaching provision, with initial successes reported, including the recruitment of over 4,000 teachers, social workers, and school psychologists.
- The Pisa study results are expected to be discussed at the Conference of Education Ministers and will likely be presented in the context of a report on teacher recruitment and training, with the aim of improving educational outcomes for German children.
Source: www.stern.de
