Thuringian Minister of Education
Holter calls for educational responsibility in the Basic Law
In Germany, education is a matter for the states; this is also enshrined in the Basic Law. photo
© Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa
After the Pisa shock, Thuringia’s Education Minister Holter advocates longer joint learning and a constitutional change.
In view of the poor results of German students in the Pisa study, Thuringia’s education minister Helmut Holter called for more federal involvement in educational issues. “The federal government must also be financially committed to educational issues on a long-term basis,” said the left-wing politician to the German Press Agency in Erfurt. He advocated enshrining a “communal task of education” in the Basic Law.
Structured school system failed?
The Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has been running in Berlin since Thursday and also wanted to deal with the PISA results. After the poor performance of the German students, there were also calls for a special Prime Minister’s Conference on the results.
Holter questioned the structured school system. “In Germany, including Thuringia, the fourth grade is where decisions are made about a child’s school career and thus also their biographies.” International experience, however, shows that longer collaborative learning is the answer to what Pisa and other studies have revealed.
Commitment to federal-state programs required
With a view to the budget crisis at the federal level, Holter warned of impacts on the planned Digital Pact 2.0 and the Start Opportunities program. “We are clear about the content, but the financial support is missing,” said Holter about the Start Opportunities program. He expected the program to be finalized on Friday. This is no longer to be expected because of the budget discussion. The program is intended to provide 4,000 schools in difficult situations with special state funding worth billions in the coming years.
According to Holter, there is still no certainty for a successor program to the digital pact from 2025. “We need connection,” said Holter and called for “a clear commitment to the Digital Pact 2.0.” But the two do not have to be linked to each other, says Holter.
In Germany, education is a matter for the states; this is also enshrined in the Basic Law. In recent years, however, the federal government has increasingly contributed financially – for example with a digitalization program, the so-called digital pact. Holter renewed his demand to abandon the so-called ban on cooperation in the Basic Law. “I am convinced that, especially when it comes to money, the ban on cooperation must become a requirement for cooperation,” he said.