As the old saying goes, Hans will never learn what little Hans doesn’t learn. It’s just stupid that the many Hanschens become Hanseln in arithmetic, writing and reading due to the ailing German education system. Almost 22 percent of fourth graders do not achieve the minimum standard in their math skills, and more than 30 percent of elementary school students do not meet the minimum requirements in spelling. And given the blatant shortage of teachers, this situation will not change for the time being.
The turning point is the political buzzword of the hour: the circumstances have forced the federal government to take immediate action in defense and energy policy. 100 billion euros in special assets for the Bundeswehr, the approval and construction of LNG terminals or the introduction of the 49-euro ticket show what is possible when it matters. To jazz it up as the new “Germany speed”, as Olaf Scholz is now doing, is double-boosted PR in its own right. Nevertheless, something is finally happening again in the republic that has become sluggish.
Only in the education sector, there is no sign of a turning point. Although the shortage there has been recorded in statistics and studies for years, although teachers’ associations have been sounding the alarm for a long time, although the level of learning has slipped even further as a result of the corona pandemic – neither the Ministers of Education nor the Ministers of Education bring about a reform that is really timely, namely the abolition of educational federalism Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) the force.
Instead, Stark-Watzinger held an impromptu education summit this week, to which, however, the vast majority of the ministers of education did not appear. Understandably so, because they would probably have been no more than the backdrop for the minister’s empty-handed speech. According to Stark-Watzinger, those responsible would face a “Herculean task”. And: “It shouldn’t be allowed to continue like this.” Oh, really?
The minister now wants to set up an “education” task force, concrete details: none. Apparently the same applies to the responsible politicians at federal and state level as to Hanschen and Hans: They never learn it again.
