Education Union Announces Protests Over Teacher Shortages in Brandenburg Schools

Brandenburg's educational landscape is facing heightened tensions as a significant shortage of teachers has prompted the Education and Science Union (GEW) to announce protests. The union's leadership has expressed strong discontent with recent government budget proposals, which they believe exacerbate the ongoing crisis.

The GEW has scheduled large-scale demonstrations to coincide with the upcoming budget discussions in the state parliament, set for May. Union representatives anticipate a robust turnout of educators and supporters on May 21 in Potsdam, where they plan to voice their concerns.

One of the major issues at stake is the projected reduction in teaching positions, with plans to decrease the number of available posts from 20,783 to 19,604 for the 2025/2026 academic year. This reduction comes amid a temporary hiring freeze for teachers and lateral entrants, raising alarms among parents, educators, and opposition parties such as the AfD and CDU.

Criticism has also emerged from within the governing coalition. The BSW, a coalition partner, has labeled the hiring freeze as excessive. The state's Education Minister, Steffen Freiberg, is expected to address these concerns in a special session of the education committee.

Furthermore, the SPD faction leader, Björn Lüttmann, has criticized the communication from the education ministry, highlighting a failure to manage expectations around staffing. He emphasized the need for more consistent and transparent communication regarding educational staffing issues.

Opposition leader Jan Redmann from the CDU has expressed fears that the planned staff reductions could lead to chaos as the new school year approaches, especially with the proposed additional teaching hours slated to commence in the second half of the year. Many schools may face significant disruptions, leading to potential class cancellations.

In response to the hiring freeze, Finance Minister Robert Crumbach has reassured the public that the state intends to resume hiring teachers shortly. He described the freeze as a necessary inventory process to assess teacher deployment for the upcoming school year. Crumbach has expressed confidence that more educators will be recruited soon.

However, he conveyed some surprise regarding the lack of precise data on teacher assignments within the education ministry, indicating an expectation of better operational readiness.

The ongoing teacher shortage has resulted in increasing class cancellations, drawing criticism from numerous parents and students. Brandenburg's Minister-President Dietmar Woidke has identified the issue of instructional loss as a critical challenge that the government must address promptly. The special committee meeting, initially scheduled for late April, faced criticism from the AfD for not being convened sooner, highlighting the urgency of the situation.