BZ editor Stefan Peter comments on the teacher shortage Photo: Ralf Lutter/BZ assembly
By Stephen Peter
Germany has over 1.7 million civil servants. In Berlin, up to 16,000 will soon be added – the Senate wants as many teachers as possible to become civil servants.
The Senate launched a bill on Tuesday, and now the House of Representatives must decide.
There’s plenty to argue about the plans: teachers don’t perform official tasks and it won’t be cheap either. However, all other federal states offer a civil service – and thus lure teachers away from Berlin.
This does not solve the fundamental problem: not enough teachers are trained in Germany! The universities have too little capacity and lecturers.
This cannot be counteracted with pensions and permanent positions for teachers – all federal states have to go back to school!