Saxony is setting a new course in the nationwide debate on early childhood education. A new "education and training plan" is to be presented at a specialist conference in Dresden this morning. It is no coincidence that the Free State is putting education first. "Education is a process that builds on upbringing. The federal law therefore describes the funding mandate in daycare centers as a triad of upbringing, education and care - in that order," Minister of Education Conrad Clemens (CDU) told the German Press Agency.
The minister is convinced that even more can be achieved in early childhood education. This would require a mandatory examination of four-year-olds and a plan for more targeted support. In 2006, Saxony was one of the first federal states to develop an education plan as the basis for educational work in daycare facilities and to enshrine it in law. "We have now evaluated and updated this plan, involving over 6,500 people in total."
