The Greens in the Bavarian state parliament are calling for a “social index” for schools in the Free State. This should identify “at which schools additional resources could have the greatest impact” for students, according to an application that was discussed in the education committee on Thursday. “In Germany, educational opportunities still depend heavily on the parental home,” says the justification for the application. A social index could therefore help to record the “impact of socio-economic disadvantage” and in particular to depict the situation in primary schools. He is also needed in order to be able to distribute the money from the federal start-up opportunities program in a targeted manner in Bavaria.
The program is scheduled to start in the 2024/25 school year. Put simply, the federal government wants to support 4,000 schools across Germany with a high proportion of socially disadvantaged students. However, the distribution of the money should largely be regulated by the state governments themselves; for Bavaria this should mean many millions of euros a year.
In their application, the Greens are now advertising that the money from the start-up opportunities program should be specifically targeted at local needs. “The funding must not be distributed across Bavaria again according to the watering can principle,” said the education policy spokeswoman for the parliamentary group, Gabriele Triebel. A social index can ensure that children with fewer educational opportunities are given additional support at school.