From Hildburg Bruns
“Not fit for training!” Zoff author Thilo Sarrazin’s (77) verdict on most of Berlin’s young people is harsh.
“70 percent of the students can’t count, read or write properly after the 8th grade,” he said in the BZ interview.
But: Are the Berlin students really that bad?
In comparison tests (VERA 8), 63 to 70 percent of the eighth graders in the capital failed to meet the minimum standards in mathematics, depending on the type of task. And in German, 52 percent and in English 44 percent remained below the minimum level.
“The results from 2022 are actually not good in Berlin (as in other federal states),” confirms Martin Klesmann, spokesman for the Berlin education administration. However, he emphasizes: “The question is not what young people should be able to do at the end of the 8th grade, but at the end of the 10th grade at the MSA.”
Nevertheless, from the point of view of the education administration, the proportion of students below the minimum standard is noticeable and should be taken seriously. “It could be due to learning deficits caused by the pandemic,” says Klesmann.
CDU education expert Katharina Günther-Wünsch (39) also warns: “It is premature to conclude from the comparative work that 70 percent are not trainable.”
Your demands: In particular, examination subjects must take place in full. Training companies need funding offers in math and German. More student teachers are to be employed in schools.
FDP education expert Paul Fresdorf (45) draws a devastating conclusion: “The schools are still ailing, there are no incentives to inspire teachers to work in Berlin, and the educational quality of many students is poor to insufficient – everyday life in Berlin schools. “
His demand: increase the number of German lessons! The FDP politician rejects considerations of shortening specialist teaching. This had been suggested by an SPD representative at the beginning of the school year.