The Chinese charm offensive is often underestimated in the West. Yet it is extremely effective, especially in the Global South.
By Fabian Peltsch
Education policy refers to the political measures for the organization and administration of the education system in Germany, including educational institutions such as schools and universities, but also vocational education and training institutions. The education system is organized on a federalist basis, which means that education policy in Germany is largely decided at state level. The Table.Briefings editorial team provides all the news on this topic. What are the special features of education policy in Germany? Germany has been a federalist state since 1949, meaning that the federal states can act largely autonomously through their own state constitutions and institutions of state authority. In 2006, German education policy was largely transferred to the responsibility of the federal states through the "Federalism Reform I". This educational federalism has resulted in some considerable differences in schools in Germany, and a core task of current education policy is to balance these differences.To facilitate this task, there are quarterly meetings of the education ministers of all federal states, the so-called Conference of Education Ministers (KMK). At these meetings, the objectives of education policy are defined across the federal states in order to create a common standard within Germany, meaning that education is a matter for the federal states and the state governments are largely free to decide on their own education policy. However, the education system in Germany follows a basic structure: so-called school authorities are responsible for the construction and administration of schools. A distinction is made here between state and private school authorities. In public schools, this is usually a municipal body, for example cities or municipalities. Private school authorities can be private individuals or non-profit organizations, such as associations or public corporations. What are the consequences of coronavirus for the German education system? The coronavirus crisis has brought some of the shortcomings of current education policy in Germany into focus. The digitalization of German educational institutions is not yet sufficiently advanced. It became clear that both schools and pupils often lack the necessary technical infrastructure. Distance learning was highlighted: But has the increased pressure due to corona been enough to accelerate the expansion of digital infrastructure and skills? The lack of cooperation between the federal government and the federal states has been shown, among other things, by different regional protective measures at schools, as well as a lack of planning security due to quick decisions by politicians and educational institutions. Distance learning has increased the inequality of educational opportunities. Children who do not have sufficient broadband coverage in their region or whose families do not have the time or economic resources to support them well in homeschooling have learning gaps. Education policy measures in the coronavirus crisis In October 2020, the Conference of Education Ministers adopted the "Agreement on the common basic structure of the school system and the national responsibility of the federal states in central education policy issues". The aim of this agreement is to standardize the federal education system somewhat – particularly with regard to the organization of the school system, the comparability of school qualifications and the further training of teachers. As part of this, it was decided to set up a "Standing Scientific Commission of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs" in order to make future education policy decisions on a more scientific basis. It is made up of leading educational research scientists. Its task is to advise the federal states on the improvement and further development of the education system. Greater cooperation is intended to lead to greater comparability and transparency in the education system in Germany, and discussions are continuing both in education policy and in educational institutions themselves about how to catch up on the learning material missed due to coronavirus. To this end, the German government has set up the "Catching up after coronavirus for children and young people" catch-up package worth two billion euros. Support and tutoring programs are to be implemented by the federal states with this money in order to close learning gaps among pupils. There will also be a focus on leisure, sports and vacation activities, as well as better socio-educational support at schools and in everyday life in order to better support children and young people during this difficult phase. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth is creating offers for families with children, such as the "Corona time-out". The possibility of voluntarily repeating the school year or adding an additional school year until graduation is also being discussed. The possibility of streamlining the curriculum is also being considered. DigitalPakt Schule – digitalization in schools In 2019, the German federal government adopted the DigitalPakt Schule (Digital Pact for Schools) with a budget of EUR 5 billion to promote digitalization in schools and improve the teaching of digital skills. Due to the school closures caused by the coronavirus, the digital pact was supplemented by a further EUR 1.5 billion. The implementation of the Digital Pact is organized by the federal states in order to equip pupils with digital devices for distance learning and thus enable more participation in digital education. However, investments should not only be made in a nationwide digital education infrastructure and in digital education providers, but teachers must also receive further training in digital skills. New methods and pedagogical concepts need to be developed and taught to teachers. What is the education policy of the political parties in Germany? With a view to the future, it is interesting to take a closer look at the parties' education policies. Points that seem particularly important to almost all parties are the secure acquisition of the German language for foreign learners, early childhood support and driving forward the digitalization of the education sector: On the subject of BAföG, all parties agree that it needs to be reformed. However, what exactly needs to be changed differs from party to party: Keeping up to date with education policy The coronavirus crisis has not only shown where the problems and difficulties lie in German education policy, but has also set the course for a future digital infrastructure. Read the latest news and articles on education policy in Germany from the Table.media editorial team.
