Germany's Schools Face Crisis: Teacher Shortages and Rising Student Absenteeism
Germany's education system is grappling with multiple challenges, with teacher shortages and student absenteeism on the rise. A recent survey in Baden-Württemberg revealed that 70 percent of schools are struggling to fill teaching positions. Meanwhile, class disruptions are a growing concern, particularly in Berlin, where almost every seventh hour of teaching is affected.
The issue of teacher shortages is widespread, with Hesse alone reporting around 10,000 missing teachers for the current school year, according to the Education and Science Union (GEW). This shortage is seen as the primary cause of class disruptions, with students taking advantage of understaffed classrooms. In Thuringia, the number of students with unexcused absences has doubled to seven percent, further exacerbating the problem.
Looking ahead, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Hamburg are expected to face common classroom disturbances in the first half of the 2023/24 school year, similar to trends seen in other German federal states. The impact of these disruptions on students' academic performance is significant, as evidenced by an English study reported by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). Student absenteeism, which has increased in Berlin from around six percent a decade ago to over nine percent currently, also contributes to this issue.
The German education system is operating at its limit, with structural deficiencies impacting learning success. To address these challenges, urgent action is needed to tackle teacher shortages and student absenteeism, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to learn in a stable and productive environment.
