Bavaria Introduces Comprehensive Plan to Tackle Teacher Shortages
The education ministry's new strategy emphasizes local solutions, voluntary measures, and a mix of short- and long-term initiatives to address staffing gaps in schools.
- Bavaria's education minister, Anna Stolz, unveiled a plan to mitigate teacher shortages, with a focus on empowering schools to implement tailored local measures.
- Key strategies include encouraging part-time teachers to voluntarily increase hours, recruiting more substitute and career-changing educators, and providing incentives for additional work.
- The teacher shortage is most acute in gymnasiums, where the return to a 13th grade has created a projected shortfall of 1,320 positions, alongside similar deficits in middle and primary schools.
- If voluntary measures fail, the ministry may reduce elective courses, increase class sizes, or impose restrictions on part-time work and early retirements.
- Since 2021, efforts to attract new teachers, including fast-tracking career changers and promoting the profession to students, have led to 1,400 new hires, but significant gaps remain.
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