From Hildburg Bruns
Grade 5 for this school start!
“It starts with a crisis in several respects,” says Senator for Education Astrid-Sabine Busse (64, SPD). She lists: “We are still dealing with the pandemic – and with the consequences. We took in 5,000 children from Ukraine who were seeking protection. We have to save a lot of energy.” Only then does she speak of the “nationwide” shortage of teachers.
The situation in Berlin: a record number of 383,290 students, but 875 full-time teaching positions are vacant.
Education Senator Astrid-Sabine Busse (SPD) previously ran a school in Neukölln herself Photo: Ralf Gunther
In view of a total of more than 34,000 educators, Busse calls this “a manageable number, thank God”. Other federal states would use headhunters and discuss a four-day week.
Each school decides for itself how the gaps are filled and what is deleted. However, the timetable with the compulsory hours should not be reduced.
What else does the new school year bring?
► 37,000 first graders, 1,400 more than last year, the highest since 2005.
► In addition to the 5,000 Ukrainians admitted, there are still 1,000 on the waiting list – the capacity is sufficient for a further 2,200 places. Two German-Ukrainian mixed-teaching classes are set up in the Aziz-Nesin elementary school and the Helene-Lange school.
Iveta (37) from Charlottenburg with Kimia (14) and Kamiar (9): “The loss of classes was a disaster. There was no reason for the children to get up early. They slept until 10 a.m. My son was given 20 pages of homework and a week to do it. He always did everything at the last second. Daily discipline is simply important. That teaches school” Photo: Sven Darmer
► There is no compulsory mask, but voluntary tests twice a week plus at the weekend. Berlin still has 27 million tests and one million masks in stock.
►Of the 2,645 new full-time positions required (2021: 2,440), 1,610 were filled on a permanent basis, 455 of them with so-called career changers who are still doing their pedagogical training at the same time. Last year there were 790, so the reservoir seems to be exhausted.
Alejandra Martinez (39), teacher of English, history and philosophy, with daughter Dafne (5): “We moved to Berlin from Spain three weeks ago because teachers are urgently needed here. I am applying now. Dafne is in first grade. If lessons are missed in the first year, that’s not so bad. During this time, socialization is most important” Photo: Sven Darmer
► There is no requirement test for after-school care centers for classes 1 to 6 at open all-day schools. Senator Busse is also canceling the school inspections again.
More space has also been created: seven supplementary wooden buildings (MEB) are being handed over in Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Reinickendorf.
Berlin doesn’t have that few teachers!
In a new country comparison of the quality of education, the capital does slightly better than it did a year ago – but it is far from a good grade.
Dennis Graupe (43), security specialist from Charlottenburg: “I hope that fewer teachers will be ill next school year. We changed schools: from public to private. Because there was more. It was the right decision, even if it costs me money now.” Son Liam, 8, says: “I had substitute teachers twice a week. I thought it was stupid that the sport was cancelled” Photo: Sven Darmer
In the education monitor of the employer-friendly Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM), the capital ranks 11th among the 16 federal states (previous year: 13th, 2019: last place).
The educational construction sites in Berlin: A relatively high proportion of the students did not achieve the minimum standards in comparative work. In addition, the school dropout rate in 2020 was 6.6 percent and thus above the national average of 5.8 percent.
Maileny Struck (38) from Charlottenburg with Liam (9): “We were lucky that not much was canceled last school year. His class teacher was very dedicated. In the Corona phase, the lessons also worked very well via the Internet. Now he has a teacher change. I hope he stays healthy” Photo: Sven Darmer
The study also sees deficits in vocational training: too few in-company training places, too many unplaced applicants (14.2 percent, national average 8.5 percent).
Berlin, on the other hand, takes the top spot when it comes to childcare conditions. According to the 2020 study, there were arithmetically 13.7 secondary school students (Gymnasium) for one teacher (Federal government: 15). This is the best value of all states.