Student numbers in Darmstadt-Dieburg: A record increase is causing excitement!

Student numbers in Darmstadt-Dieburg: A record increase is causing excitement!

In Darmstadt-Dieburg, the topic of education remains a hot topic. With a sharp increase in the number of students in the 2022/23 school year, schools are facing new challenges. Like that echo reported that the number of students has grown continuously since the 2017/18 school year. In the current school year, 33,694 students are already enrolled in schools in the district - an increase of more than 3,000 students in just eight years. Eight years ago, in the 2015/16 school year, there were only 30,398 students.

This development not only has an impact on school operations, but also forces the planning of infrastructure measures. In order to cover the increased space requirements, a school construction program will be implemented between 2022 and 2026, which will be financed with a total of 360 million euros. It is important to react flexibly to the growing demands on schools and also to take into account the announced legal right to full-day care from 2026.

All-day offers on the rise

Despite the challenges, there are also positive developments in the area of ​​all-day care. A current statistic of the Conference of Ministers of Education shows how important all-day offers have become for the compatibility of family and work. In the 2022/23 school year, there were 19,264 schools across Germany that provided all-day programs for students. This corresponds to a share of 72.3% in primary and secondary education.

A look at developments since 2002/2003 makes it clear how much the landscape has changed: In the beginning of the year, only 16.3% of schools with full-day programs were paying, but the number has risen to an impressive 72.3% today. In addition, almost 3.8 million students now take part in all-day schooling, which corresponds to almost 50% of the total number of all students in the corresponding grades.

Trend-setting impulses from the past

The booming comprehensive schools and the various forms of all-day programs are also fueled by legal requirements and investment programs. The foundation for this positive development was laid as part of the “Future Education and Care Investment Program” (2003–2009) and the “Law on All-Day Support for Children of Primary School Age” of October 2, 2021.

These forward-looking measures and statistics underline the growing social importance of all-day programs, which are also becoming more relevant in the context of international educational discussions such as PISA. There are nationwide differences in participation in all-day programs, with Saxony, Saarland and Hamburg recording the highest rates, while in Hesse there is still room for improvement - but the school building program shows that there is a willingness to consistently follow this path.

The development of student numbers and the associated measures are not only an indication of the upturn in the educational landscape in Darmstadt-Dieburg, but also reflect the changing social demands that will shape the education system in the future.