Brandenburg's schools before collapse: Reasons threaten inclusion!

Brandenburg's schools before collapse: Reasons threaten inclusion!

Brandenburg, Deutschland - The SPD-BSW government in Brandenburg is planning significant cuts in the field of education that will significantly influence the school landscape of the federal state. 345 positions will be available in the coming school year, which is underpinned by a reduction in personnel budget by 50 million euros. These changes primarily affect the hourly assignments and have a direct impact on the staffing of the schools. Loud MAZ-Online the Brandenburg Pedagogue Association (BPV) warns of the serious cuts that make up about 20 percent in the number of hours for inclusive lessons.

The association representatives see the cuts in the representation reserve, the integration courses and the all -day offers. Association President Hartmut Stäker emphasizes that the insufficient resource equipment for inclusive lessons is not acceptable. He calls on the state government to take measures that are not implemented at the expense of the weakest students, as reports from Tagesspiegel is.

negative effects on inclusion

The planned cuts could lead to a step backwards when the inclusive schooling of children with and without support. The current situation is additionally tightened by the lack of special educators and school social workers. As mbjs.brandenburg.de notes since 2020, which has been aimed at a total of 231 "schools shared learning", to teach pupils with and without special needs in one class.

The schools that work as part of the "Learning together" concept make up about 41 percent of all types of school in public sponsorship. These are 166 primary schools, 29 high schools, 6 comprehensive schools, 7 upper level centers and 23 school centers with primary school part. Despite these successes, however, many schools have to deal with inadequate resources if they try to achieve the legally required inclusion standards.

reactions and protest scenarios

The Minister of Education Steffen Freiberg will comment on the proposed cuts on Thursday in the state parliament education committee. He was unable to work for more staff in the previous budget negotiations and pointed out the challenges that the planned measures bring. From the second half of the next school year, teachers should also teach one hour more, which can lead to some schools cannot hire new teachers.

According to the Upbringing and Science union (Gew), the job cuts add up to more than 2,200 jobs in the coming two school years if you take into account the increasing number of students. The GEW is even considering legal steps against possible compulsory releases of civil servants to protect the rights of the employees.

Finally, the special educator Manuel Pape shows in a personal blog how fatal the cuts are from his point of view. Schools that were largely left alone in the implementation of inclusion are now faced with the challenge of doing justice to the diverse requirements in inclusive classes without adequate support. These developments raise serious questions about the future of educational offers for all students in Brandenburg.