It is a well-known fact that opportunities are there to be seized. In this respect, the result of the mayor’s official meeting for next week should actually already be certain: the Ebersberg town hall bosses should seize the opportunity and support the municipality of Kirchseeon in the implementation of the specialist academy for social pedagogy. You don’t really have to do anything more yourself, because the project, which is intended to provide relief in the difficult area of childcare, is being served to you on a silver platter. The Johanniter have already worked out a detailed concept for this.
Now it is important not to leave the aid organization alone, but to give it all the necessary support. This primarily affects the financial resources that the association cannot raise itself. The Johanniter cannot initially count on the help of the Free State, because it only opens its wallet after a period of five years – when the vocational school has long been established. It is therefore up to the Ebersberg municipalities to provide the necessary start-up assistance.
However, the timing of the project is somewhat unfortunate. Since the Johanniter must have submitted the necessary applications by the end of February at the latest, urgency is now required. However, many of the municipalities have already approved their budget plans for the current year and thus secured their financial leeway for 2022. On the other hand, the community principle applies here: The more partners contribute to the costs, the less each individual contributes to.
Meanwhile, there is no question that the entire district can benefit from the project. Thanks to the dual training system, 25 pedagogical staff could be employed in the day-care centers in the region as early as next autumn – in purely arithmetical terms, more than one specialist per municipality. By September 2026, the number of trainees would increase to 125 in practice, and the first 50 graduates would then leave school as state-approved educators and be available for the job market – and in the best case scenario, stay in the region.
The Johanniter have already demonstrated their competence as the sponsor of such a specialist academy for social education at several locations throughout Germany. Now the district of Ebersberg has the opportunity to take a big step in the fight against the shortage of educators. Municipalities must not let this opportunity pass them by.