Pupils and teachers in Hesse defend themselves around 20 million euros!

Pupils and teachers in Hesse defend themselves around 20 million euros!

Bebra, Deutschland - in Hesse, it is bubbling hard when it comes to the finances of the schools. Austerity measures by the state government force the educational institutions to do without two thirds of their reserves. This decision affects an impressive 20 million euros that have to be returned ashore, as [hna.de reports] (https://www.hna.de/lokales/rotenburg-bebra/einige-bangen-budget-schueler-und- teacher-in-waldhessen-sich- against-Sparplaene-des-93789768.html). These are funds that have not been used up at the end of the year and could be kept in reserves for up to three years.

The reserves not only form a financial cushion, but are also of great importance for the planning of future projects. Headmaster Manfred Brill from the Brüder-Grimm comprehensive school in Bebra is disappointed with the decision that, among other things, negatively influences projects such as a democracy theater and external support. The changes in budget and reserve also affect personnel planning, especially in the area of ​​representative forces, which also exacerbates the situation in schools.

resistance and protest against the savings package

In the population, there is resistance to the cuts. A petition of the state student representative calls for a withdrawal of the austerity measures and has so far collected over 5145 signatures. The German Teachers' Association Hesse (DLH) has been behind the initiative, while prominent voices such as Jakob Migenda from the Left and Thilo Hartmann from the Education and Science Union (GEW) also demand reliable funding from the schools. Hartmann calls for the support of the petition, which can be found here (https://www.fr.de/hessen/protest- against-kuerzen-hessens--die- 20-million-euro-retained-93694310.html).

politicians of all stripes criticize the cuts sharply. Daniel May, spokesman for education in the Greens, emphasizes that, especially according to the challenges of corona pandemic, the school budget is urgently needed. Gew Hessen also draws attention to the financial and organizational problems that arise from the cuts.

Financial framework and future prospects

Although the Hessian Ministry of Education emphasizes that the education budget will increase by 5.9% to around 5.8 billion euros in 2025, uncertainty in schools and teachers remains great. According to welt.de, the reserves of the schools-which were saved by unused money from 2022 to 2024-flow back to the state budget. This happens in the knowledge that the number of teaching positions will increase by around 2,100, which raises the question, where the additional funds flow.

Another challenge is that only a third of the budget can be transferred to the next year. The returns concern planned long -term projects and endanger proven educational offers. The dialogue between school providers, teacher associations and the state government is therefore becoming increasingly important in order to create a future -proof education policy.