schools
KMK President fears a teacher shortage for another ten years
Seems the bottom will only be passed in ten years: Astrid-Sabine Busse. photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
It is unlikely that the shortage of teachers in German schools will be resolved in the near future. The reasons: shortage of skilled workers and the demographic problem.
The new President of the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK), Astrid-Sabine Busse (SPD), expects that Germany will have to struggle with the problem of the shortage of teachers for a long time.
“I think we will be dealing with this for at least another ten years,” said the SPD politician and Berlin Senator for Education in Berlin. There is no professional field where there is not a shortage of skilled workers. It’s a demographic problem, said Busse, who took over the presidency of the KMK at the turn of the year.
She explained this with falling birth rates in certain years – there was a significant drop after the turn of the millennium – and with the fact that earlier baby boomers were now slowly retiring. “This creates large gaps.” Previously, in an interview with the “Bildung.Table” information service, Busse had said that in ten years the bottom would have been passed and things would start to pick up again.
The need for teachers is currently increasing. After a low point about ten years ago, more children are being born again, and there are also schoolchildren due to immigration. But until the increase in today’s students is reflected in more specialists again, “that will take time,” said Busse. The Standing Scientific Commission, an advisory body of 16 educational researchers based at the KMK, is also currently working on recommendations for improving the teacher situation. These should be presented this year.