Brandenburg worried: 345 teaching positions will be lost – what now?

Brandenburg worried: 345 teaching positions will be lost – what now?

Things are about to get pretty turbulent in the school system in Brandenburg. With the new state budget, 345 teaching positions are at risk and that has already caused a lot of excitement. Headmasters and teachers are facing a difficult challenge as preparations for the coming school year are anything but smooth. From February 2026, teachers will also be expected to teach an hour more per week, which is causing uneasy feelings for many. The CDU sees this as a path to “fiasco”, as it emphasized in the education committee. Education Minister Steffen Freiberg from the SPD sees the situation as a challenge, but denies massive cuts, although the concerns are not unfounded.

The primary and comprehensive school in Lehnin is particularly affected, where two urgently needed teachers cannot be hired. As a result, the school could potentially have a “backlog” of 90 teaching hours. Headmaster Dirk Lenius speaks of “unrest” and a “tense mood” among the teachers. In addition, the political climate prevents many school leaders from expressing their concerns publicly for fear of professional disadvantages. CDU politician Kristy Augustin warns that, despite all the assurances from the Ministry of Education, students could be affected by more canceled lessons and increasing sickness among teachers. Covering the timetable has the highest priority, but restrictions on important additional offers such as remedial lessons and all-day care cannot be ruled out. RBB24 reports that these concerns are being felt across the country.

Financial constraints and protests

The planned budget for Brandenburg does not provide for any new positions for teachers. This has not only sparked protests among teachers, but also among students who fear for their education. However, the state government would like to put more money into education - at least 300 million euros annually are planned. But this financial boost is accompanied by the cut of 50 million euros for teachers' salaries. In the coming school years, the number of teachers is expected to fall from 20,800 to 20,542 and finally to 20,442. Moz.de covers well the difficulties that these cuts bring with them.

The state parliament opposition, represented by the AfD and CDU, is sounding the alarm and fears that the number of lesson cancellations will continue to rise. More than 1,000 teachers have already been hired or confirmed for the next school year, but signs of possible overloading of teachers cannot be dismissed. In the 2023/2024 school year, almost 1.7 million teaching hours had to be replaced, of which over 300,000 hours remained without replacement.

The future of education in Brandenburg

The Brandenburg government is trying to meet the challenges with these cuts. There are suggestions to reduce the workload of teachers - for example by doing fewer activities outside of class and reducing class work or parent-teacher meetings. But parents are concerned about the impact on students, particularly the expected negative consequences of less contact with teachers. daily news emphasizes that, despite everything, the digitalization strategy of schools and democracy education should have priority.

A very delicate situation that raises many questions. Headmaster Dirk Lenius hopes for clarity on planning for the coming school year - and that is probably the wish of many in Brandenburg's educational landscape. Time is running out, and if a solution is not found soon, the consequences for students and teachers could be dramatic. A good hand in budget planning is now required in order not to put the education system in further trouble.