Schools - Prien: Germany must become a social education state
In view of the upcoming PISA results, CDU federal deputy and Schleswig-Holstein's education minister Karin Prien has called for more investment in education. "We need a new self-image," the politician told the German Press Agency. "Germany must take the path from a welfare state to a social education state. We need to prioritize education - across all age groups - in the budgets of the federal and state governments." This applies to early childhood education, school education, initial, further and continuing education, but also to basic and cutting-edge research. Germany has been mired in ideological debates about the school system for decades, has been late to digitalization and has failed to attract enough qualified staff to its schools.
On Tuesday, the new Pisa school performance study will be presented for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. It measures the skills of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science. It has been carried out every three years since 2000.
The first comparative study caused the "Pisa shock" at the time: German 15-year-olds performed extremely poorly, and the Pisa report also showed a shamefully close correlation between social background and educational opportunities. The result was a fierce debate on education. After that, Germany 's results in the Pisa studies steadily improved, but since 2016 the results have been falling again.
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- Despite being criticized for its late adoption of digitization and insufficient attractiveness towards qualified educators, Schleswig-Holstein's education minister Karin Prien, a member of the CDU, believes that Germany needs to shift its focus from a welfare state to a social education state, investing more in education across all age groups.
- In a statement to the German Press Agency, Prien advocated for a new self-image for Germany, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing education in the federal and state government budgets, including early childhood education, school education, and continuing education.
- The upcoming PISA results, which will be presented on Tuesday, will serve as a indicator of Germany's progress in education, as they measure the skills of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics, and science since the coronavirus pandemic.
- Karin Prien's call for investment in education follows Germany's history of ideological debates about its school system, as well as its poor performance in previous PISA studies, particularly in 2000, which resulted in a "Pisa shock" and widespread criticism of the nation's educational opportunities.
Source: www.stern.de
