Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Saxony-Anhalt's Education Minister Eva Feußner (CDU) has defended the results of the most recent education summit and the overtime for teachers. "We recognized the situation and took courageous steps to secure and strengthen the right to education for our students," said Feußner on Friday in the state parliament. She was responding to criticism from the left-wing parliamentary group. In January, Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) invited representatives from the education sector, business and science and associations to the education summit.
The education summit in the state chancellery was not a dialogue, said the education policy spokesman for the left, Thomas Lippmann. The left demands a forum in which everyone looks for solutions on an equal footing. The party also called for the additional hour to be withdrawn and for the prospect of better pay for primary school teachers to be specified. The application was rejected with the votes of the coalition factions of the CDU, SPD and FDP as well as the AfD. Left and Greens voted for it.
The government is refusing to discuss the matter, said Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz, spokeswoman for education policy for the Greens. This is also reflected in the fact that the CDU has withdrawn its application for a current debate on the subject. "The topic of school burns like no other."
The parliamentary group leader of the SPD, Katja Pähle, called for recognition for the efforts of the state government and the parliamentary groups with a view to improving the provision of lessons. The results of the education summit would now be implemented. The FDP MP Jörg Bernstein said there was no need for another advisory body. Instead, many measures that have been decided are given too little attention, such as the flexible staff budget for schools. These should be able to pay staff directly.
Like other federal states, Saxony-Anhalt is struggling with a massive drop in classes, and there is a large shortage of teachers. In order to at least limit the shortage, teachers should soon be in front of the class for one hour a week. They can have it paid out or accumulate it in a working time account. It is still unclear how the promised better payment for primary school teachers will be implemented.
