86 percent of teachers in Saxony leave prematurely

About nine out of ten teachers at Saxon schools leave their profession prematurely. This was the result of a minor interpellation by MPs Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg and Juliane Nagel (both Left Party) in the state parliament. They consider the number to be alarming. In the 2024/2025 school year, a total of 1,601 teachers left the profession, with 1,377 leaving before the normal retirement age.

Extra work is part of everyday life at schools

"Something urgently needs to change in terms of working conditions," Neuhaus-Wartenberg told the German Press Agency. The Ministry of Education's working time study had shown that overtime is part of everyday life for teachers at schools in Saxony and is not sustainable in the long term. Minister of Education Conrad Clemens (CDU) must now revise his measures and finally provide relief.

For Burkhard Naumann, Chairman of the Education and Science Union (GEW), the reasons for early retirement from the teaching profession are also obvious. "The workload in the teaching profession is immense and many teachers cannot cope with it until retirement age. The tasks are constantly increasing, while the educational challenges for pupils are also growing."

GEW boss: For many, the profession is just a matter of hanging on

According to Naumann, the general conditions are deteriorating due to the shortage of teachers and, since this year, a decline in funding from the state. "Teaching could be one of the best jobs because you prepare young people for their future. In the current situation, however, for many it is just a matter of persevering with the motivation of their own idealism. The high level of stress is hazardous to health.

According to the GEW, teachers are regularly found to be at a significantly higher risk of burnout than other occupational groups. The many hours of overtime during school hours can only be compensated for if they do not work at all during the vacations. Despite vacations, the majority of teachers are constantly working unpaid overtime throughout the year. Teaching 26 or 27 hours per week accounts for only a third of their working time.

Two thirds of working time spent on non-teaching tasks

"Two thirds of weekly working time is spent on non-teaching tasks, which are increasing all the time. In addition to the core tasks of teachers, this also includes many administrative tasks such as organizing school trips, setting up digital devices because no staff are provided for this, significantly more work with parents than in the past and much more," Naumann explained.

As a result of these poor working conditions, Saxony loses more than 1,300 teachers every school year who leave the teaching profession before their time, Naumann reported. With the package of measures from the Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs and the cuts in the state's double budget, the conditions would deteriorate dramatically once again. "This is why even more teachers are now thinking about leaving early."

GEW: Retain teachers with better working conditions

In order to retain them, the GEW leader made it clear that the framework conditions must be fundamentally improved. "This is only possible with a comprehensive education package, with an expansion of school assistance as support, the expansion of and personnel support for digital equipment in schools, more school social work and a genuine curriculum reform that brings teaching into the 21st century."

A working time study commissioned by the Ministry of Education recently revealed that Saxon teachers work an average of 2.5 hours of overtime per week. The overtime in teaching weeks is compensated during the vacations. Around half of full-time teachers work more than the planned working hours, the other half less. Part-time teachers are 60 percent over. Secondary school teachers have a particularly high workload.