Central German states talk about teacher shortage

Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt want to exchange more information on school and education issues. There are common challenges, common issues and a similar demographic development, Thuringia's Education Minister Christian Tischner told the German Press Agency in Erfurt. A meeting of the education ministers of the three federal states is planned in Thuringia's state capital. "The big issues that concern us at this meeting are teaching provision and school quality," said Tischner.

Demographics have an impact

Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt have been struggling with teacher shortages and teaching absences for years. At the same time, the three federal states are running out of kindergarten children after low birth rates. This means that places in the facilities are becoming vacant. The demographic trend could also have an impact on elementary school later on. "The birth crunch of the 1990s is now hitting us hard," said Tischner. The background to this is the exodus of young people in the 1990s.

According to Tischner, there was already a meeting of education ministers in Saxony-Anhalt at the beginning of the year, and the education ministers want to meet in Saxony next year. A joint declaration is planned for the meeting in Thuringia.

Transnational further training

According to Tischner, the exchange should also serve to share experiences - for example with allowances for prospective teachers or with further training. The CDU politician can also imagine teachers from Thuringia taking further training courses in Saxony or Saxony-Anhalt and vice versa. Tischner also mentioned digitalization as a topic where he thinks an exchange with neighbouring states would be useful.