Ministry of Education - Staff shortage at schools remains a huge problem in NRW
Unfilled teaching positions and vacant principal posts: Despite all efforts, many schools in North Rhine-Westphalia are also starting the new year 2024 with considerable staffing gaps. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Education, almost nine percent of all schools in NRW have no principal. Many elementary school are particularly affected: In 267 cases - out of 2719 elementary school nationwide - head teacher positions remained unfilled. According to the latest data, around 7100 teaching positions were unfilled. The staff shortage is one of the most pressing problems facing the education system nationwide.
The shortage of teaching staff leads to a particularly high workload for existing teachers and to missed lessons for pupils, emphasized Ayla Çelik, NRW chairwoman of the education trade union GEW. Bold and rapid changes are needed in order to recruit more staff. With regard to recent proposals from the Standing Scientific Commission (SWK) to the Conference of Education Ministers, Çelik spoke out in favor of abolishing the Numerus Clausus as an admission restriction. Instead of keeping interested students out of teacher training courses, the state should support the universities in expanding the number of study places. Among several measures, the SWK had also recommended examining the abolition of admission restrictions.
The Ministry of Education in Düsseldorf explained that vacancies in school management positions do not mean that the management function is not being performed at these schools. In these cases, the Schools Act stipulates that the permanent deputy takes over the management - or another member of the school management if they are unable to do so. "If these substitution options are not possible, another appointed teacher or the longest-serving teacher at the school takes over." Schools Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) is holding talks with school administrators with the aim of providing them with even better support, according to a dpa inquiry.
In December, the ministry reported on the teaching staff that, with 160,900 posts filled, more people were employed at schools in NRW than a year earlier and that staffing levels had improved by around 3,900 posts. However, there is still a long way to go "before the shortage of teaching staff is a thing of the past". In total, the almost 4,800 public schools in NRW currently have a need for 168,000 positions - an increase of around 2,900 positions, which are additionally needed for further all-day expansion or inclusion, for example.
Despite this increased demand, the number of unfilled positions has decreased to around 7100 within a year. According to a spokesperson, the vacancies include not only teachers but also social education workers and school psychologists. The Verband Bildung und Erziehung (VBE NRW) called for all phases of teacher training to be improved.
Wolfgang Siebeck, Chairman of the NRW Head Teachers' Association, called the staff shortage a "huge problem that cannot be solved." As in other areas of the labor market, there will be a shortage of specialists in the long term. "The problem will tend to get worse in lower secondary schools, for example, in the coming years," he told the German Press Agency. According to the association chairman, the attractiveness of this area could increase if the number of compulsory teaching hours were to be reduced. However, this would in turn produce a higher demand for teachers. "Overall, the North Rhine-Westphalian education system is facing even more difficult times, there is hardly any light at the end of the tunnel."
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- The shortage of teachers in North Rhine-Westphalia is a concern not only for schools in NRW but also for the entire education system in Germany, as highlighted at the recent conference of education ministers.
- Despite efforts to address the issue, many schools in Düsseldorf, the capital of NRW, are still facing a staff shortage, with around 9% of schools lacking a principal and over 7000 teaching positions unfilled.
- The German Educational Union (GEW), based in North Rhine-Westphalia, has advocated for the abolishment of the Numerus Clausus as an admission restriction for teacher training courses to help alleviate the teacher shortage.
- Schools in NRW that have vacant principal positions are not completely without leadership, as the Schools Act states that in such cases, the permanent deputy or another school management member takes over.
- Wolfgang Siebeck, Chairman of the NRW Head Teachers' Association, has described the staff shortage as a "huge problem" that affects not only schools in NRW but also the entire education system in North Rhine-Westphalia, warning of difficult times ahead.
Source: www.stern.de
