Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann has given up his push for limited part-time teachers and is now asking the schools for help. A government spokeswoman told the German Press Agency on Wednesday that the idea of increasing the minimum working hours for part-time civil servants due to the shortage of teachers had been extensively examined by the Ministry of Education. "However, the examination showed that we would only gain 80 to 120 credits. We will therefore not pursue the idea any further."
Teachers' associations sharply criticized the letter from Kretschmann and Minister of Education Theresa Schopper (both Green) in view of the stress caused by the Ukraine refugees and the pandemic.
Kretschmann explained in April that the country urgently needed more teachers in view of the arrival of thousands of refugee children and young people from Ukraine. The regulations for part-time work are currently "very generous", so that many teachers in particular teach relatively few hours. However, an increase in the general weekly working time of 41 hours for state civil servants is not being sought. Unions and the opposition were already unanimously irritated by the surprising move and described it as poorly thought out.
State civil servants are generally entitled to work part-time for up to 50 percent. An application for part-time work for family reasons, for example because a child is being cared for or a relative is being cared for, can only be rejected if there are compelling official reasons to the contrary. Since a change under Green-Red around five years ago, the lower limit for part-time work has been 25 percent - before that it was 30 percent. Such applications are checked individually by the respective regional council for teachers.
