Schwerin (dpa/mv) – The most recent expert recommendations for remedying the shortage of teachers meet with strong opposition from the education union GEW in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At the heart of the criticism are proposals to increase the teaching obligation and limit part-time employment. “It suggests a higher workload for the teachers and a few lines below there are notes on health promotion and mental training. That doesn’t fit. Many teachers have long been working on the limit,” said GEW state chairwoman Annett Lindner on Tuesday in Schwerin. In the previous week, the Standing Scientific Commission of the Conference of Ministers of Education published its proposals, triggering a nationwide debate. Education is a national matter.
Lindner expressed the fear that an increase in the number of hours would further reduce the attractiveness of the teaching profession, making it even more difficult to find young professionals. She announced intensive negotiations with the state government with the aim of improving working conditions. The use of so-called working time accounts, in which overtime can be saved and used in later years for shorter working hours or early retirement, is an important point.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, around 7,000 of the current 12,000 teachers will retire due to age by 2030. In the past few years, the positions could often only be filled by specialists with no educational qualifications. In the previous school year, every third new hire was such a lateral entrant.
