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Saxony Reports First Drop in School Lesson Cancellations in a Decade, but Unions Dispute ‘Trend Reversal’

The education ministry attributes the August and September decline to targeted management steps, signaling a push to tighten part-time rules.

Overview

  • Planned cancellations fell to 3.1% in August and 3.2% in September, down from 3.6% and 3.7% a year earlier, according to official data.
  • Unplanned cancellations also eased slightly, to 3.4% in August and 5.4% in September, indicating broader but modest improvements.
  • Oberschulen posted the biggest gains, while primary schools and vocational centers saw small increases linked to teacher secondments.
  • Despite progress, about 1,145 full-time positions remain unfilled and schools face steady inflows of roughly 300 migrant children each month as well as a 7.2% share of pupils with special-education needs.
  • The teachers’ union rejects talk of a turnaround, saying reassignments mask losses in regular subject teaching, while the minister backs lowering the parental part-time entitlement age to 14, a change that would require amending civil-service law.