Shortage of teachers in Dresden: School sends children home

“Due to an exceptionally high staff shortage due to illness, secondment, quarantine, studies, part-time employment and time off, 8 out of 19 teachers are missing at our school this week”, Olaf Böttger writes to the parents.

Therefore, in consultation with the State Office for School and Education, he had to send a third and fourth grade from his 15th elementary school to homeschooling by Friday of this week. “The affected classes are given tasks by their class leaders, but can visit the after-school care center from 11.45 a.m. and have lunch with their parent teacher,” said the headmaster.

Since the class leader instruction instructed by the Dresden Health Department should neither split nor mix the children, he could not offer emergency care. “Every teacher still available, including the school management, is currently fully employed in the classroom,” writes Böttger. The problem for the parents: to take care of the eight and nine year old children. Leaving her home alone all day is not an option. Most of them used up overtime and vacation hours during lockdown school closings.

Not all teaching positions in Dresden have been filled

“I have informed the State Office for School and Education (Lasub) and the school parents’ spokesman, Mr. Seidel, about this unsatisfactory situation.” The State Office confirms this on request from the SZ. Clemens Arndt, spokesman for the Lasub, emphasizes that from Monday they will probably have two class representatives. “The most important thing is that the supervision of the children is covered, if that cannot be guaranteed, they have to be sent home,” says Arndt.

Not all teaching positions are filled in Dresden either. How many there are, he left open. When asked why the children are not divided into other classes, the Lasub replies: “The health department has made an urgent recommendation to the 15th GS not to mix the classes. In addition, all pupils and teachers can meet more than twice test the week, “he says. These measures would serve prevention in order to guarantee classroom teaching for as long as possible.

“This shows exactly how important the pool of fire brigade teachers would be that we proposed. We have to build it up. There is simply a lack of teachers,” says CDU City Councilor Matthias Dietze, who is a teacher himself. SPD education politician Sabine Friedel says: “Yes, that is a problem. If, in addition to the ‘normal’ problems of teacher shortages and illness, there are also a pandemic and quarantine, the tablecloth will be too scarce.”

Left-wing politician criticizes: “Just one example of many”

“Unfortunately, the conditions at the 15th primary school are just one example of many that have come to my ears since the beginning of the school year. Many schools work in a kind of emergency mode, “emphasizes left-wing education politician Anne Holowenko. The victims are once again the children who now have to study from home, although the corona-related learning backlog is huge and the number of infections is comparatively low.” Now she is taking revenge Decades of unsuccessful recruitment policy of the CDU-led state governments in the education sector. The Lasub must finally have a sufficiently large pool of substitute teachers that can be accessed in such cases, “she demands.

Green education politician Agnes Scharnetzky demands: “If the state does not see itself in a position to deploy sufficient staff, it must immediately and unbureaucratically be an examination of how the state, in coordination with the state capital, provide funds for more hours of the educators in their own after-school care center can.” This could at least ensure support during the tasks.

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