Bremen education: round table without results - what now?

Bremen education: round table without results - what now?

In the Bremen educational debate, little seems to move, because the first round table for education, which took place on Wednesday, did not bring any concrete results. At the session, which took place in the citizenship building for over three hours, it became clear that there is still a lack of solutions to cope with the pressing problems in the education system. Educational Senator Sascha Aulepp (SPD) described the conversations as a "round thing", but the participants could not make any specific decisions.

The round table, convened on pressure of 14 educational associations, aims to develop an emergency plan to cope with increasing number of students. But despite positive discussions, in which student representatives were also present, there were no tangible results. Matthias Fonger, managing director of the Chamber of Commerce, confirmed the factual atmosphere, but there were critical voices of opposition representatives, such as Fynn voigt (fdp) complained.

Problems in the Bremen education system

The challenges are considerable. Bremen has a sad record in the education sector: According to the 2024 education monitor in 2024, the state occupies last place in the categories of educational poverty, school quality and integration. The high school leaving quotas of 9.2 percent and the fact that 24.9 percent of foreign school leavers do not conclude that the Situation is urgency. In addition, access to all -day offers in the country remains behind the expectations; Only 38.6 percent of 3 to 6 year olds get this form of care.

The tense financial situation means that the problems in the education system are not new. Senator Aulepp explained that investments in education cannot be financed solely from the educational budget; Support from the federal government and private investors are required. A five-year plan for school construction and school renovation should have clarified the distribution of the limited financial resources, but this failed to materialize. Critics warn that without parliamentary approval and necessary financial resolutions are nothing more than beautiful declarations of intent.

the way forward?

The meeting led to the establishment of three working groups with a focus on school construction, personnel and quality development in class. Nevertheless, the question remains open when and whether specific measures are implemented. At the next meeting in March there is the challenge of presenting tangible results. Meanwhile, the GEW threatens with its withdrawal from the round table if it does not bring clear steps and schedules to the table.

If you look at the strengths of the education system, there are at least positive aspects, such as the second best performance in the field of digitization. Bremen also has a lot to offer in the university area thanks to a high density of academics, but the comparison with other federal states remains unsatisfactory. While Bremen occupies last place among the other federal states in the areas of school integration and quality, such as Bavaria or Hamburg, it is clear that investments and reforms are necessary to raise education in Bremen to a competitive level. So education policy will continue to remain a hot iron in Bremen politics.