- The holidays are over - the new school year begins
Thuringia kicks off the school year again: After the summer holidays, 264,200 children and young people are returning to classrooms in state and private schools. The number of students is increasing by nearly 7,000, according to figures from the Ministry of Education. Among them are over 19,000 first-graders who will have their school start celebrated by their parents with traditional candy bags in the coming days. Neighboring Saxony follows: there, the summer holidays end this year on August 2nd.
Traffic experts, including those from TÜV Thuringia, have drawn attention to the special challenges facing drivers at the start of the school year. Accidents involving children are particularly common near schools or public transport stops at the beginning of the school year. Drivers should exercise particular caution, paying attention to school buses and "parent taxis," as TÜV puts it.
This school year, around 20,000 fifth-graders will have a new subject: Media and Information Technology. The new curriculum had previously been tested at 36 schools with success, according to the Ministry of Education.
According to Education Minister Helmut Holter (Left), the state hired 1,048 teachers last year to combat teacher shortages, especially due to retirements. Among the new hires were 293 lateral entrants. 945 teachers left, mostly due to age. The ministry plans to hire another 313 new teachers by early September. In recent years, there has been frequent lesson cancellation due to shortages, especially in science subjects.
A new project for the dual training of regular school teachers is set to start in September with the first 50 students. The places for this training program, where future educators receive payment, attracted hundreds of applications.
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This school year, the increase in students makes the total number of children and young people in Thuringia's schools reach approximately 264,200. The excitement of starting school is palpable for over 19,000 first-graders, who will soon celebrate their school commencement with traditional candy bags.
