With the school year set to start soon, government of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) plans to hire more teachers to address ongoing shortages.
Niedersachsen’s government is implementing several measures to improve the situation in schools, starting with the new school year on Monday. Here are some key points about the current state of schools in the region:
Teacher shortages persist despite improvements
Teacher shortages have been a contentious issue in Niedersachsen for years. Recently, the teaching coverage rate was 96.9%, a slight improvement. However, this rate varies by school type: almost 100% at high schools (Gymnasien) and only 91.6% at special education schools (Förderschulen).
Government strategies to improve the situation
To counteract the shortage, the government plans to increase teacher salaries and add more positions. Starting this school year, many teachers will receive higher pay. The A13 pay grade, previously reserved for high school teachers, will now extend to teachers at other schools, raising their salaries by several hundred euros per month.
The state budget for the upcoming year includes 2,460 new teaching positions to ensure that all teachers completing their preparatory service this and next year can be offered positions.
Increasing student numbers
Approximately 890,000 students are expected to attend general education schools in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) after the summer break, up from around 877,000 last year. This continues a trend of rising student numbers, with projections from last autumn estimating over one million students by 2030.
This year’s student numbers are lower than previous estimates, partly due to a revised lower estimate of refugee children, down by around 10,000.
New hires and ongoing recruitment efforts
As of July 22, more than 80% of advertised teaching positions were filled, with over 1,200 of 1,467 positions occupied. The Ministry of Education expects more hires in the coming days, with recruitment continuing past August 1.
Ongoing subject-specific teacher demand
There is a persistent need for teachers in subjects such as math, sciences, art, music, and computer science, while positions in German and history are easier to fill.
Criticism and calls for long-term solutions
Stefan Störmer, head of the Education and Science Workers’ Union (GEW), expressed concerns about the lack of a long-term plan from the government to address the teacher shortage. He questioned whether all positions could be filled given the tight labor market and predicted that the situation could worsen, varying by region.
CDU faction leader Sebastian Lechner criticized the government for not implementing effective measures to solve the ongoing problems in schools, stating that despite acknowledging the issues, Education Minister Julia Willie Hamburg has not taken sufficient action to resolve them.
