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Berlin’s education system is worst in Germany: study

A new study has revealed that Berlin and Brandenburg’s education systems lag behind those of other German states.

Published: 19 August 2016 10:39 CEST

Berlin's education system is worst in Germany: study

Photo: DPA

Mastering the three R’s is a struggle in Berlin and Brandenburg, according to “Education Monitor 2016”, an investigation carried out by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research for the think tank New Social Market Economy Foundation.

The survey determined which state has the best education system and where there is the greatest need for change.

Saxony, Thuringia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hamburg’s education systems came out on top, whereas Brandenburg was placed second-last and Berlin trailed behind in the bottom spot.

High dropout rates, poor test scores and inadequate help with integration were signposted as the main issues in the two states.

In Berlin in 2014, students did badly on comparative tests, 39.7% did not complete their vocational training compared to the national average of 27.7%, and the dropout rate in schools was 8.1% compared to the national average of 5.5%, the study demonstrated.

In addition, the fact that too few students took technical or scientific qualifications came under fire from authors of the survey.

The biggest problem is that immigrants are not given adequate help with getting integrated into the education system, the report argued.

The report pointed out that 635 out of 3,815 non-German citizens who left school in Berlin in 2014 did so without completing their qualifications in 2014. At 16.6 percent that is above the national average of 11.9 percent.

To rectify this issue, Berlin and Brandenburg must be prepared to pay out a collective €280 million next year, as well as providing additional teachers and experts in training preparation, the study suggested.

But it's not all bad news for the capital and the surrounding state.

Brandenburg has a “wide range of full-day places at nurseries and schools” and very few unqualified employees of nurseries.

Berlin was praised for its support of young researchers, ranking second-top out of all the German states in this area.

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Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government.

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded.

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.”

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres.

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod.

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level, people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used.

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said.

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