State Precinct 38, Candidates for Education, Housing, Security

How do you want to advance education policy in NRW?

Christian Untrieser (CDU) Our children deserve the best education. Today, 13,300 more teachers teach in public schools than in 2017. 1,745 socio-pedagogical specialists are available for the school entry phase (in 2017 there were only 569). We gave students more time to study again and introduced the G9 on demand. We also ended the chaos of inclusion and saved the well-functioning special schools. 55,000 full-time places have been created since 2017. We have created 60 talent schools. As of 2021, all elementary schools are supported by vice principal positions. We have invested heavily in digital education and, through the DigitalPakt School, have donated 1 billion euros for the development of the school’s IT infrastructure and digital equipment. All teachers and students in need have a tablet or similar device.

Matthias Staeit (SPD) Education policies are underfunded and the results are unfair. With regard to the dependence of the diplomas obtained on the income and education of the parents, NRW occupies an inglorious leading position in Europe. We want to change that. Education is a promise made to the young generation to be able to exploit their talents. You can never completely ignore parent status here, but we’d like to push it as far as possible with free education from daycare to college or master’s school.

Dirk Wedel (FDP) We want to achieve a better quality of teaching, in particular through a better student-teacher ratio and smaller class sizes. To achieve this objective, the shortage of teachers must be permanently and structurally resolved. We have set up the first 60 talent schools in neighborhoods with specific social challenges. To nurture all talents, we want to expand this project to 1000 talent schools across the country. By the end of 2022, every school should be connected to fast internet. In the future, all school children should be equipped with a digital device if they make a moderate contribution themselves. Students who previously could not afford a digital device should continue to be exempt from additional payments.

Andreas Nixdorf (AfD) I criticize the closing of the Realschule for Mettmann. I would have liked to keep the school system at several levels. I reject the comprehensive school; it brings together all levels of performance and does not provide real educational equity.

Ina Besche-Krastl (Green Party) On balance, it is clear that Ms. Gebauer did not keep any of the big promises made during the last election campaign. The corona pandemic has had the effect of a magnifying glass on the already unevenly distributed opportunities in our education system. Managing the pandemic has placed an undue burden on parents, children and teachers on more than one occasion. Both the announcement and the implementation of the measures have sown uncertainty on both sides. We want to invest in the education of the future. This requires modern learning materials, but also more teachers and smaller classes. Children have the right to individual support.

Natalie Meisen (left) We want a school that does justice to every child and enables real inclusion. Smaller class sizes, more teachers, comprehensive building renovations, the abolition of the three-tier school system in favor of comprehensive schools, and the expansion of digitalization. Every child needs their own device. We also want to get rid of sitting, homework, and grades, as Reform educators have demanded for decades and countless studies have pointed to the quality of the demands. All around – the education system needs updating, one look at the surrounding countries is enough to see that we cannot keep up.

Thorsten Klimczak (independent) I want to promote teachers, as well as student motivation, further develop full-time schools and provide better career guidance while taking precautions to avoid dropouts. isf