Schwerin (dpa/mv) – No swimming pool, no bus, no swimming teacher: swimming lessons in elementary schools in the north-east often fail for one of these reasons. Now a concept agreed between the Ministry of Education and the opposition is intended to remedy the situation. It is to be discussed in the state parliament on Friday (9:00 a.m.). There is an application for this from all parliamentary groups except for the AfD, which was not involved in the talks.
The core demand of the parliamentary groups is to guarantee school swimming as a comprehensive offer for all elementary schools. Adequate training opportunities should be available for swimming instructors so that swimming instructors can regularly renew their lifeguard certification. In addition, prospective teachers who do not teach physical education should also be given the opportunity to train as swimming instructors.
The aim of the curriculum is to ensure that children can swim safely by the end of primary school. However, Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (left) recently acknowledged that about a third do not have the necessary swimming skills when they leave primary school after grade four. The corona-related contact restrictions in the past two years have aggravated the situation.
In the past few weeks, the government and opposition had agreed on a concept for better swimming lessons in the country. According to the application, the state government should report on the implementation and success by summer 2023 at the latest.