Overview
- In a statement to the state parliament, Education Minister Conrad Clemens said Saxony misjudged demographics decades ago and closed schools too aggressively, and he pledged to avoid new closures as enrolment falls again.
- Clemens reported early gains from a measures package launched last year, saying missed lessons have started to decline after a decade of increases, though roughly 9% of classes still do not take place.
- The burden is uneven, with small towns and certain school types facing more canceled lessons than Dresden and Leipzig, which leaves many rural families with fewer hours of teaching.
- Looking ahead to talks with fellow state ministers, Clemens plans to argue against hiring teachers as lifetime civil servants, calling the model too costly and saying any shift would need a joint decision.
- Parties remain split on the path forward, with the CDU defending early tracking after grade four and more cooperation between schools, the AfD seeking a required economics class, and opposition leaders pressing for fair access to teaching time.