In Bavaria, 580 schools benefit from federal funding worth billions as part of the so-called StartChances program. The federal government is making over 1.4 billion euros available to the Free State over the next ten years, as Bavaria’s Ministry of Culture announced at the request of the German Press Agency in Munich. The country is adding the same amount again, which is why a total of almost three billion euros is available.
The federal government’s Starting Opportunities program is intended to particularly support schools with a high proportion of socially disadvantaged students. The money is intended for construction work, additional staff such as social workers and also for free use of the schools. According to the Federal Ministry of Education, the focus of the billion-dollar funding is particularly on the students’ basic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic. However, it is not the federal government that decides which schools are eligible for funding, but rather the Free State. During the week, the Ministry of Culture will therefore approach individual schools and inform them about the possibility, said a spokesman. However, this does not yet result in a final decision regarding the participation of these schools.
Around 100 elementary and middle schools are expected to start the program in the coming school year. There are more than 6,000 schools in more than 20 school types throughout Bavaria. According to the federal government, the funding is the largest education program in the history of the Federal Republic – a total of 20 billion euros is earmarked for a period of ten years. The federal and state governments share the sum equally. The Union and the Left criticized the program as too late and too small, as it would only reach a tenth of the students. The AfD also massively criticized the funding program.