Starting this year, many temporary teachers in Baden-Württemberg are also to be paid during the summer holidays – what is already anchored in the double budget is now also to be lashed down in the Council of Ministers. “The through-payment is a milestone for more appreciation in the field of education,” said Green Party leader Andreas Schwarz on Saturday. The decision gives the educators the long-awaited security.
Criticism came from the opposition: “When the Green parliamentary group leader speaks of appreciation for teachers, that’s a good April Fool’s joke,” said SPD parliamentary group and state leader Andreas Stoch on Saturday. The Social Democrats have long demanded that temporary teachers not be dismissed over the summer holidays. “The fact that this is now being implemented is a gratifying and important signal,” said Stoch according to the announcement. “However, if you want to limit the important part-time opportunity in the same package of measures, then you take one step forward and two steps back.”
Minister of Education Theresa Schopper (Greens) also announced on Friday when presenting a package of measures against the shortage of teachers that the cabinet wanted to hook the plans this week. More than 2,800 additional teachers are expected to benefit from this this summer – namely all those whose employment began by December 31st and ends with the last day of school before the summer holidays.
Schwarz continued: “The decision sends an important message: We don’t do things by halves, but honor the important work of the educators and hope to be able to keep them in the school service in the long term.” The aim is to decouple educational success from social background and to increase the quality of education. “We need more teachers for that.”
Also Schopper said that the payment during the summer holidays is an important factor for this. Especially in the border areas, teachers have so far migrated because of this rule – for example to Bavaria or Switzerland.
