More and more teaching positions have been created in NRW in recent years, but the demand is growing to an even greater extent. At the same time, there is a gaping gap in education at primary schools. Minister Feller wants to present solutions.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – School Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) will present an action plan for teaching provision in the specialist committee of the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament today (from 10 a.m.). According to the latest statistics from the ministry, around 8,000 teaching positions are vacant in the state’s schools. Most teachers are still missing in elementary schools, where more than 3,400 positions are vacant.
In a current hour of the state parliament, Feller had described an adequate supply of teachers in the past week as one of the greatest challenges. A working group has been working on a package of measures since the summer. The draft budget of the black-green state government for 2023 provides for more than 5,000 additional jobs in schools. However, it is questionable whether they can also be occupied. The minister sees one reason for the problems in a lack of social appreciation for the profession.
Despite the currently high number of vacancies, she sees a “slightly positive trend”. In the past year, despite the tense situation on the skilled labor market, 7,940 teachers and other pedagogical staff were newly hired. The SPD opposition, on the other hand, is already talking about a “deep-seated educational catastrophe”.
A study recently showed that more and more primary school children in North Rhine-Westphalia are having problems with mathematics and German. In a five-year comparison, the fourth graders have even fallen behind significantly in their skills in these main subjects.
