Gütersloh/Schwerin (dpa/mv) - According to a study, more than 5,000 specialists will be missing in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania by 2030 for all-day support for primary school children at Western level. The north-east can fulfill the then applicable legal claim to an after-school care center with the likely existing staff, according to the specialist radar for day care centers and elementary schools, which the Bertelsmann Foundation in Gütersloh published on Tuesday. In order for all-day support to be as well staffed as in West Germany, thousands of additional skilled workers would have to be recruited.
While the after-school care centers in western Germany have a personnel ratio of 1 to 6, in the east it is 1 to 14 and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania it is even 1 to 15.5. The foundation criticized that a full-time specialist would have to look after almost ten more children in the north-east than in a West German after-school care center. That is at the expense of quality.
The legal entitlement to all-day support for elementary school students will be gradually introduced: from the 2026/2027 school year it will apply to first graders, and from 2029/2030 to all elementary school classes. The Bertelsmann Foundation regretted that the legal entitlement does not specify any nationwide standards for staffing.
The Verdi service union, which represents many educators, called on the state government in Schwerin to take action. "The study shows once again that the need is great," said Verdi spokesman Daniel Taprogge. "We have been pointing out for years that there must be a specialist offensive in early childhood education and all-day education." The measures taken by the state government in recent years have not been sufficient. Two more teacher classes in the next school year are a first step, but they are not enough. Additional skilled workers would also be needed in the day-care centers.
