When schools in Germany had to close from one day to the next two years ago because of Corona, millions of schoolchildren and their parents suddenly experienced what was previously more of a topic for experts: that Germany had overslept the digitization of schools. There was a lack of good internet, tablets and computers, and teachers who were familiar with the technology. A lot has happened since then, but by no means enough when it comes to the digital association Bitkom, the Federal Student Conference (BSK) and the Federal Parents’ Council (BER). On Thursday they called for a “right to digital education” – for students who cannot go to school and for students and employees who want to continue their education.
A “jolt” is needed now, said Bitkom President Achim Berg at a press conference in Berlin. The pandemic showed that. “There were schools that were totally left behind,” said Christiane Gotte, chairwoman of the Federal Parents’ Council. The learning success depended on whether the respective school had previously invested in technology and further education. That has to change. The associations have in mind an individual legal right to minimum technical standards at the school, which students can enforce in court if necessary, ideally throughout Germany. According to a Bitkom survey, 80 percent of parents support the proposal.
However, the proposal does not allow students to simply stay at home. Compulsory schooling will not be shaken, it said on Thursday. “The right to digital education should not abolish face-to-face teaching,” stressed Cornelius Böllhoff. It is a “sur plus”, an addition. On behalf of Bitkom, the lawyer worked on an expert opinion that came to the conclusion that there is no need to change the constitution. The states could simply enshrine a right to digital education in their school laws. That would be within a year, said Böllhoff. So that not every state “cooks its own soup,” he proposes a state treaty between the federal and state governments.
The associations remain vague on the details
But what exactly could students complain about? The report does not provide any answers here. Only the “if” was checked, not the “how”, explained Böllhoff when asked by the SZ. The associations also remain vague, just this much: if a student is in quarantine, breaks his leg or a snowstorm paralyzes bus services, it should be possible to take part in classes digitally from home. The report speaks of “legitimate need”. But how many cases are there in perspective, in a time without permanent corona school closures?
The Teachers’ Association for Education and Training (VBE) also called for more speed in digitization. But no new legal entitlement is needed for this, said the chairman, Udo Beckmann. He referred to the Federal Constitutional Court, which had developed a new “fundamental right to school education” in November when it decided on the Corona school closures. “Now it has to be clarified what good education means,” said Beckmann. This standard then applies analogously as well as digitally.
Arnd Niedermöller, chairman of the federal directors’ association, was irritated: “I read the demand as a right to distance learning – only packaged more beautifully. That’s not possible,” he said. He fears that face-to-face teaching will be undermined. The social contact for the children is indispensable.
Teacher representatives counter: You cannot spontaneously move lessons to digital
Bitkom demands that students can connect digitally if necessary. And the parent and student representatives also say: Such a two-track hybrid lesson must be possible at all times. The teacher representatives countered that this was not manageable. “We can’t always prepare the lessons digitally and analogously,” says Beckmann, also against the background of the shortage of teachers.
Bitkom President Berg, who represents the interests of the digital economy, wants to “think ahead”: Hybrid lessons, cameras in the classroom, learning apps, digital support for homework. The list of ideas is long. But the question remains as to how much of this can be regulated by law without restricting the pedagogical freedom of teachers.
“We should focus on quick practical implementation and less on a new legal right,” said Jens Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education. The students are not helped if video lessons are of poor quality but meet the new formal requirements.
What really helps: less bureaucracy in the digital pact. The program was launched in 2019 and now comprises 6.5 billion euros. Money that the federal government makes available to the states for devices and digital infrastructure. The problem: In the first few years, the money was only withdrawn slowly. Projects worth 2.4 billion euros were approved by the end of 2021. Only half of this has been paid out so far.