Germans increasingly dissatisfied with the education system

2023-09-01 09:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

According to a survey, the quality of education in German schools is in drastic decline. The main reason is the lack of teaching staff, but also the growing challenges with children who do not speak German at home.

Only 27 percent of respondents give the education system in Germany the best rating. In 2014, such an assessment was given by 38 percent of respondents who were satisfied with the functioning of schools in Germany. According to a survey conducted by the German Institute for Economics (IW) commissioned by the Initiative for a New Social Market Economy (INSM), 79 percent of respondents say that the education system has deteriorated since the corona virus pandemic. "These are alarming figures," says IW expert Ludger Wößmann.

More money for affected schools

According to the data of the so-called "educational barometer" of the IW, the education system has deteriorated especially in the segments of teaching quality, integration and general education. "These data show that we are in dire need of a drastic turnaround when it comes to schooling policy," said Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger.

She promised "strong support" for Germany's Länder, because education policy is a competence of the Länder. The federal government's plans also include declaring around 4,000 schools with a high percentage of socially neglected students as "First Chance Schools", where special attention will be paid to basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics. .

"The federal government and the state governments must work together to increase the chances of the best possible education and preparation for life, regardless of the social background of pupils and students," said Stark-Watzinger.

There is no answer to the challenges that immigration brings

According to the study, the biggest problem for the decline in the quality of education is the lack of teaching staff and too little money for education. The Institute for Economics (IW) believes that the German education system is not even ready for the challenges that immigration brings. "Kindergartens and schools have not yet found an adequate response to the changing population and the fact that German schools have become more heterogeneous in recent years, because a growing number of students do not speak German at home and grow up in families where practically there are no books," said Axel Plünnecke of IW.

The result is that the level of knowledge has fallen especially among children of immigrant families or families where parents do not have higher education. IW experts demand the introduction of compulsory pre-school education for all children who do not speak German well, or speak very little of the language. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wants to impose fines on parents who do not send their children to kindergartens to learn German.

According to the study, the best education is provided in schools in Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, while the worst in Berlin, Brandenburg and Bremen./ DW