Teacher shortage - Slightly fewer lessons missed in Thuringia
Teacher shortage and wave of illness: According to a survey by the Ministry of Education, a lot of lessons are still being canceled in Thuringia. In a sample week from September 11 to 15, 8.6 percent of lessons did not take place as planned, according to data from the Ministry of Education available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The figure was even worse in the previous school year: In one survey week in fall 2022, almost one in ten lessons at Thuringian schools had been canceled.
No reversal of the trend
"We have improved slightly in terms of the fall figures, but we are still a long way from reaching our goal," said a ministry spokesperson when asked. Although the ministry is cautiously optimistic, it is too early to speak of a trend reversal.
Thuringia has been suffering from a massive shortage of teachers for years. In order to counteract this, the state government reintroduced the permanent employment of teachers, launched image and teacher recruitment campaigns and changed recruitment practices. An increasing number of lateral entrants are also finding jobs as teachers in the state.
Wave of illness
Thuringia is currently experiencing a wave of illness, "which is of course also having a temporary and regionally exacerbated effect on teaching cover", said the spokesperson.
According to the data, around 29,114 of the 337,223 scheduled lessons were canceled in the week of the survey. In some cases, the lessons were compensated for with other, unscheduled lessons, while in others the pupils did quiet work. A total of 19,443 lessons were canceled without replacement.
While 11.7 percent of lessons were canceled at regular schools, only 6.9 percent of lessons were canceled at elementary school and 7.9 percent at grammar schools.
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- The German Press Agency reported that despite the efforts of the BMBF and Thuringia's state government, the teacher shortage in Thuringia continues to pose a challenge, leading to the cancellation of a significant number of lessons.
- The BMBF has provided financial support to address the teacher shortage in Thuringia, including initiatives to encourage lateral entrants to become teachers, but the issue remains a concern, as evident by the recent wave of illness affecting schools.
- A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education in Thuringia acknowledged the trend of slightly fewer lessons being missed compared to the previous year, but emphasized that a significant reversal of the teacher shortage trend has not yet occurred.
- The spokesperson also highlighted that the current wave of illness is having a temporary impact on teaching coverage in Thuringia's schools, exacerbating the challenges posed by the teacher shortage.
- The Thuringian education system is facing a challenging trend of loss of lessons due to the teacher shortage and wave of illness, with the ministries working tirelessly to implement strategies designed to address this issue, such as reintroducing permanent employment for teachers and launching recruitment campaigns.
Source: www.stern.de
