Politicians debate over updated school programs for grammar institutions. - Will there be a single educational model for all students?
A disagreement is taking place regarding the education system in Lower Saxony!
The source of controversy: the Ministry of Education is presently having new curricula formed for major subjects, such as German, at secondary level I (grades 5 to 10). Up to this point, these "core curricula" have been distinct for grammar schools, secondary schools, lower secondary schools, and comprehensive schools. Going forward, there will only be one curriculum, it will only distinguish between two performance levels.
For Wolfgang Schimpf (56), former principal of the Max Planck Grammar School in Göttingen and previous leader of the Directors' Association, there's one undeniable fact: Culture Minister Julia Willie Hamburg (37, Greens) is dismantling the traditional school system!
"The target, as explicitly stated in the coalition agreement between the SPD and the Greens in 2022, is a unified school up to grade 10. The goal is therefore to create a shared curriculum across all lower secondary levels," Schimpf writes in the FAZ. The red-green state government has no interest in maintenance of the structured school system, "although the politically strong wishes of parents indicate otherwise."
Christian Fühner (36), CDU education politician, expressed his disapproval: "Ms. Hamburg is well on her way to destroying the peace in Lower Saxony with education. The restructuring of teacher training to standardize teachers and the adjustments towards a standardized curriculum are an assault on grammar schools." In accordance with Fühner, this implies that the standardized school is being constructed "through the back door," so to speak.
Ministry of Education Responds
The Ministry of Education denies this: "Nobody wants to dissolve grammar schools. And it is not the aim to discuss school types." Instead, the purpose is to modernize the curricula to allow for "permeability." Switching between schools, such as grammar schools or secondary schools, is intended to become easier.
The coalition agreement, however, indicates that the Red-Greens want to "promote secondary schools in particular in their development into comprehensive schools (IGS)." In IGS, children are not divided based on school type, but are taught together much like in elementary school. Secondary schools have existed in Lower Saxony since 2011, when secondary schools and lower secondary schools were able to fuse to form secondary schools.
In the years since then, more and more secondary schools have transformed into IGS. Thirteen secondary schools have already utilized this option since 2015.
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Source: symclub.org
