The Ministry of Education has acknowledged problems with the payment of extra hours for Saxony-Anhalt’s teachers. There are still minor delays in the application or payment process, said a spokesman for Education Minister Eva Feußner (CDU) of the German Press Agency on Friday. The “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported on it.
Like other federal states, Saxony-Anhalt is struggling with a massive drop in classes, and there is a shortage of teachers. The country is using various measures to combat the shortage. For example, since the Easter holidays, teachers have had to spend an additional hour a week in front of the class. They can have this paid out or accumulate it in a working time account.
According to the Ministry of Education, the advance hours are paid out in one fell swoop at the end of the school year. In the coming school year, too, this should not be done monthly “in view of the technical solutions and human resources that are not yet available”, but collected at the end of the school year. “The school administration is working flat out on clarifications for the implementation of the regulations and for simpler documentation. The teachers will be informed in detail,” said the spokesman.
Overall, the Ministry sees the introduction of the advance hour as positive. It was said that good effects had already been achieved. However, the technical administrative processes in connection with the advance hour, the compensation account and the hourly bills would still have to be adjusted. The trade union for education and science (GEW) had recently sharply criticized the introduction of the anticipatory hour.
