Education teachers in Germany often work part-time
Women in particular often reduce their working hours: the part-time rate for female teachers was 49.9 percent, more than twice as high as that of their male colleagues. photo
© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
Germany is lacking teachers – yet more teachers worked part-time in the last school year than in previous years. And the age structure could soon become a problem.
In the 2022/2023 school year, around 724,800 teachers Teachers worked at general education schools in Germany – 42.3 percent of them part-time. The part-time rate was at its highest level in the past ten years, as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced. And that despite the fact that schools are desperately looking for new teachers.
In the previous school year, the part-time rate was reportedly 40.6 percent, which was also a high in the previous ten years. Women in particular often reduce their working hours: the part-time rate for female teachers was 49.9 percent, more than twice as high as that of their male colleagues, 21.8 percent of whom worked part-time.
Differences between countries
There were clear differences between the federal states. While in Hamburg (54.4 percent) and Bremen (49.9 percent) around half of the teaching staff at general education schools worked part-time, in Thuringia it was only around one in four teachers (24.1 percent) and just over one in five (21 .4 percent) in Saxony-Anhalt.
According to the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE), more than half of school principals stated last year that at least one teaching position had not been filled at the beginning of the current school year. In almost every fifth school (17 percent) there were even three or more vacant positions.
Given the increasing demand for teachers, the age structure of current teachers is also becoming more important in order to assess future needs. According to the Federal Statistical Office, more than a third (36.2 percent) of teachers were older than 50 years, and 10.6 percent were 60 years old and older. These are likely to be retired in the short to medium term. Those under 35 made up 21.1 percent of teachers in general schools.
Older teachers, especially in the East
The proportion of older teachers was particularly high in the eastern German states. In Saxony-Anhalt, those over 50 made up the largest group of teachers at 57.1 percent. In Thuringia 53.5 percent and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 52.5 percent. Their proportion was particularly low in Saarland (28.2 percent) and Bremen (30.4 percent).
Many young teachers worked in Bremen in particular. According to the Federal Office, those under 30 made up 10 percent of the population. This was followed by Rhineland-Palatinate (9.2 percent) and Hesse (8.6 percent).
According to the information, the number of new students in teaching courses fell last year for the second time in a row. In the 2022 academic year, almost 45,400 young people began studying to become a teacher – that was 3.2 percent fewer than in the 2021 academic year and 7 percent fewer than ten years earlier.
The number of teaching graduates also fell: around 28,700 students passed their final exams in the 2022 exam year. That was only 0.7 percent less than the year before (around 28,900). However, in a ten-year comparison, the corresponding number fell by 10.5 percent.
dpa
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2024-01-12 05:40:54
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