Overview

• The GEW in Lower Saxony estimates the state needs an additional 2,500–3,000 full-time teachers for core classes and up to 10,000–12,000 more to cover inclusion and language support roles
• Lower Saxony’s education ministry has filled about 1,400 of 1,600 advertised teaching positions, achieving an 88 percent recruitment rate ahead of the 2025/26 term
• Despite record hiring, Lower Saxony’s coverage of required teaching hours has stalled at 96.9 percent as rising pupil numbers and expanded all-day care, inclusion and language tasks drive demand
• In Hesse, the GEW reports roughly 10,000 full-time teachers are missing, with around 5,000 working students and 5,000 unqualified temporary staff filling many posts and increasing the risk of lesson cancellations
• Nationally, official data show a record 43.1 percent of teachers working part-time and over one third aged 50 or older, a demographic mix that sustains long-term staffing gaps