School assistants in Chemnitz: Protests have an effect in the budget!

School assistants in Chemnitz: Protests have an effect in the budget!

Chemnitz, Deutschland - In Chemnitz, the current budget decision of the Free State has caused fundamental changes in the field of school assistance. In the past few days, several schools have protested the impending deletion of school assistant positions, which are of great importance for many students and teachers. The protest took place in front of the town hall and was able to mobilize several hundred students and teachers. A central reason for the displeasure was the threatened dismissal of the school assistants at the support center Learning "Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi", which is part of a larger group of educational institutions that are also affected, such as the Freie Presse reported.

In the course of the protest actions, it became clear how serious the situation is in many schools. In the Annaberg-Buchholz funding center, for example, the pupils and teachers experienced a silent protest on Monday against the possible elimination of three assistant offices. All 222 students and the entire teaching staff actively participated by painting pictures and worries on the sidewalk and attaching posters. In this way, they demanded that the decision be taken back out that the contracts should not be extended by a school and a school administrative assistant and an inclusion assistant. The initiative was successful: Within just two weeks, the students were able to collect almost 10,000 signatures for a petition to prevent the job cancellations, followed by reports from the MDR .

The importance of school assistants

The role of school assistants becomes particularly clear in the current discussion. These specialists are not only a support for teachers in class, but also contribute to better integration and support for students. Their tasks range from the implementation of educational offers to language and integration determination, which is particularly important in heterogeneous classes. In this way, the assistants can also act as a bridge between school and parents to reduce linguistic and cultural barriers, as is explained on the side of the Saxon School Authority.

The Saxon Minister of Culture Conrad Clemens has known itself to be an important role in school assistants, but the preliminary housekeeping makes it difficult to extend limited contracts until the budget is passed in summer. Of the approximately 900 school assistants, around 400 contracts have until the end of 2025, while the rest are unsure. Astrid Leonarczyk, the headmistress of the funding center, stated that the elimination of this important positions would be a step backwards for educational justice. Pupils such as Aallyah, 10 years, and Simon, 13 years, emphasized the positive effect that school assistants have on their learning environment and their social activities.