Suhlendorf fights for education: Parents' council demands quick decisions!

Suhlendorf fights for education: Parents' council demands quick decisions!

In an alarming initiative, the parents' council of the Suhlendorfer Mühlenschule sent an incendiary letter to Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Olaf Lies and Education Minister Julia Willie Hamburg. The aim is to secure the position of principal at the school in the long term, which is a central concern for the children's education. The current headmaster Rüdiger Erler will be in office until July 2026, but his successor will be appointed on August 1, 2026. Families report great concerns about their children's educational prospects, which appear to be threatened by uncertainties in school management. Parents are demanding pragmatic solutions and opportunities for motivated applicants, even without formal qualifications. The parents' council particularly emphasizes the importance of considering Claudia Ramünke for the position, although the Regional State Office for Schools and Education rejected it because her combination of subjects does not meet the regulations. There is also support from politicians of all stripes, such as SPD state parliament member Jan Henner Putzier, who has already written to the Minister of Education. A prospective student from Schleswig-Holstein who applied to become a high school teacher was also not accepted by the Ministry of Education because her subjects, history and French, were not considered suitable.

A call for solutions

In the dialogue on the future of school management that took place in August, considerations were given to a possible school experiment in order to test new organizational and pedagogical concepts. However, these proposals require approval from the state. The pessimistic prospects of a timely and suitable filling of the position of rector are coming to a head. The pressure to reduce bureaucracy is clear, Friederike Bottle from the school parents' council criticized the current regulations and urgently calls for an exception for primary schools. The possibility of a model school that focuses on promoting democracy and innovative teaching concepts could come into play here.

These problems are not isolated cases and reflect the difficult situation in the German education system. A recent survey shows that around two thirds of Germans have doubts about whether the state is fulfilling its responsibilities in education. The results of the 2022 PISA study reveal alarming trends: Germany has the worst student performance in reading, mathematics and science, in addition to having one of the highest dropout rates in the EU. In Lower Saxony, over 30% of fourth graders fail to meet the minimum standards in the core subjects, which is a strong signal that there is an urgent need for action here.

The call for qualified teachers

The challenges at school are not only due to the lack of qualifications of applicants, but also to a nationwide shortage of teachers in Germany. A shortage of teachers and insufficient digital skills make the situation even more precarious. Money flows into advertising campaigns to attract qualified teachers, while teachers in Germany are often not adequately trained to adequately meet the challenges in the classroom. University teachers and parents in Suhlendorf urgently want a solution to sustainably ensure the quality of education locally. As the above circumstances show, Millenschule parents are not alone in their quest for change - the problems are pervasive and require quick action and innovative approaches.