AfD on education

The AfD wants to strengthen dual vocational training and upskill the existing workforce. For master craftsman training, funding would cover 90 percent of the costs.

The AfD wants to strengthen job training. Schools and companies should work together more closely. People training to become master craftsmen should get 90 percent of the costs covered. There should also be courses for further training.

Schools, vocational training and companies would be linked more closely. Low-skilled workers would get catch-up training so they can work in shortage occupations, along with further training and language courses. The AfD also wants to examine whether the level of master craftsman funding could depend more on the need for skilled workers in each trade.

The AfD wants to relieve teachers of administrative work and bring teachers seconded to government agencies back into schools. A college of education is to be established in the state for teacher training. In the short term, suitable career changers are to help.

There are too few teachers in the state. The AfD wants to take office work off teachers. About 400 teachers work in government offices today. They should go back to schools. The state should build its own college for teachers.

School administrative assistants are to take over administrative tasks. About 400 teaching positions currently assigned to the education ministry, the school authorities and the state institute IQ-MV are to serve classroom teaching again. School social work is to become a state responsibility and the number of school psychologists is to rise; the AfD wants to act firmly against violence and drugs and favors more homogeneous classes. In the long run, all teachers are to complete the regular preparatory service including the second state exam. At the planned college of education, training is to be practical and paid and come with a prospect of being hired, similar to the state's college for public administration, police and the judiciary.

The AfD wants to focus teaching more on mathematics, the natural sciences and practical learning. Social studies would again begin only in eighth grade. The party criticizes that political education is emphasized too early and too strongly at the expense of subject knowledge.

The AfD wants more math and science in school. Lessons should be closer to real-life practice. Social studies should only start in grade 8. The AfD thinks there is too much political education in school.

The platform points out that more than 80 percent of training companies report major gaps among school leavers in reading, writing and arithmetic as well as in resilience and work attitude. In the AfD's view, the school law pushes teachers to stand up for a particular political opinion. The party also complains that subject lessons are often canceled and exams keep getting easier. Differences in students' talent and aptitude are to be acknowledged.

The AfD rejects rules under which ten-year-olds are taught about sexual topics, family diversity, or changing role models. Lessons should mainly reflect how the majority lives. Programs run under the label of gender mainstreaming are to be removed from schools.

The AfD wants to change sex education. Ten-year-olds should not be taught about sexual topics and family diversity. Lessons should follow how most families live. Programs on gender topics should end at schools.

Sex education is to follow children's physical and emotional development. The platform justifies rejecting the current rules by saying they often conflict with parents' views. The AfD says it accepts different ways of living together but wants lessons to convey what it calls a life-affirming and responsible image of the family. According to the platform, students should receive guidance and not be drawn early into debates about roles and identity.

The AfD wants to introduce a preschool with a binding curriculum and uniform standards in the last year of kindergarten. It points out that one in four children shows major language deficits at school entry. In elementary school, the core vocabulary is to grow and joined-up handwriting is to be taught on a binding basis.

The AfD wants a preschool in the last year of kindergarten. It has a fixed curriculum for everyone. Many children speak German poorly when they start school. In elementary school, children should learn more words. They should also write by hand more often.

Compulsory schooling is not to be extended by the preschool. The core vocabulary taught by the end of fourth grade is to rise from 800 to at least 900 words. For learning fluent joined-up handwriting, the platform plans binding time guidelines through grade 4, similar to the existing daily reading slot (Leseband). The Schulausgangsschrift, a joined-up script, is to become mandatory from first grade. Handwritten dictations and more writing exercises are to carry more weight again.

The AfD wants to keep the school system divided into tracks by ability. Moving between Gymnasium (academic high school), Regionalschule, and special-needs school should depend on grades and proof of performance, not solely on parents' wishes. The party questions the shared orientation stage in grades 5 and 6.

The AfD wants to keep different types of schools. Children should be placed by how well they do. The parents' wish alone should not be enough. Children with weaker grades should take a test for the Gymnasium. Gifted children should get more money for support.

Students with a grade average worse than 2.5 are to take an additional aptitude test for the Gymnasium, which can be repeated several times. In the AfD's view the orientation stage has not proven itself because it forces many children to change schools twice. The party wants to examine whether secondary school should again start in grade 5. The platform welcomes shared campuses for different school types and regards the state's existing comprehensive schools as worth keeping. Budget funds for gifted students are to rise considerably.

The AfD wants the Abitur (university entrance diploma) to reliably show again that a graduate is ready for university. Regionalschulen (non-academic secondary schools) are to prepare students for vocational training with a stronger practical focus. State funding for adult education centers (Volkshochschulen) is to rise considerably.

The AfD wants a more demanding Abitur. Whoever has it should truly be ready for university. Regionalschulen should prepare students better for job training. Adult education centers should get more money from the state. Schools should also teach how the economy works.

The platform cites complaints from employers and professors about declining readiness for training and university, and sees the Gymnasium turning into a mass institution. The basic vocational qualification at Regionalschulen is to become a solid foundation for trades and apprenticeships through suitable curricula. On dual vocational training, the AfD cites 10.4 percent of students leaving school without a diploma and nearly one in five vocational students failing their exams. Canceled lessons are to be disclosed and eliminated. The platform values adult education centers because people can earn school diplomas there later in life. Lessons are also to explain economic matters in a practical way.

The AfD wants to secure elementary schools close to where children live, especially in rural areas. Independently run schools are to receive fair and reliable funding. The party sees them as part of a diverse school landscape with competition.

The AfD wants to keep elementary schools close to home. This should help villages most of all. Children should have short trips to school. Independent schools should get reliable funding. Independent schools are schools not run by the state.

According to the platform, small elementary schools can be run like a village school as a branch of a larger school network. The AfD considers short distances and familiar surroundings especially important for children; long rides in crowded buses are to end. School buildings are to be well maintained and equipped to current standards. The chapter heading says independent schools are to be put on an equal financial footing.

The AfD wants to keep and further develop special-needs schools (Förderschulen) permanently. It rejects what it sees as blanket inclusion that would lead to the end of these schools. Regular schools are to be equipped so that children with physical disabilities can learn there.

Förderschulen are schools for children who need special support. The AfD wants to keep these schools. It opposes teaching all children together. But children with physical disabilities should be able to attend normal schools.

According to the platform, inclusion must not harm either students needing support or high achievers. It says inclusion policy so far has often worsened the prospects of both groups and sharply raised costs for municipalities. Specially trained staff, small classes, and career-oriented teaching already exist at special-needs schools, it argues. Every child with a disability or learning difficulties is to receive support matched to their needs.

The AfD wants to secure the political and ideological neutrality of schools and invokes the Beutelsbach Consensus. Teachers should not call on students to vote for particular parties or to attend demonstrations. It rejects programs that it says are directed one-sidedly against certain views or parties.

The AfD wants neutral schools. Teachers should not promote parties. They should also not call for joining protests. The AfD wants to look critically at outside projects. The teacher should be at the center again.

The Beutelsbach Consensus is a principle of civic education in Germany: students must not be overwhelmed, controversial topics must be presented as controversial, and independent judgment is to be strengthened. The AfD opposes influencing students through the teacher's position of authority. In its account, too much money goes to projects by external partners at schools. An AfD-led state government instead wants to put the teacher at the center, in renovated schools with modern technology.

The AfD wants to strengthen math, computer science, natural sciences, and technology from elementary school on. It plans more STEM-friendly schools, internships from lower secondary level, and regional STEM clusters. Dual study programs are to be strengthened as an equally valuable path.

STEM means science, technology, engineering and math. The AfD wants to promote these subjects more. Schools should get better equipment and good teachers. Students should do internships in companies early on. Schools, companies and universities should work together.

Schools are to receive modern equipment and qualified teachers, and fewer science lessons are to be canceled. The AfD wants to support competitions such as “Jugend forscht.” Internships at companies, shipyards, research institutes, and craft businesses are to be firmly established, though not as a requirement. Together with the chambers of commerce and crafts and the universities, regional clusters are to be built around fields such as the maritime economy, aerospace, agricultural technology, the health sector, and the food industry. The state wants to agree with universities on enough study places and modern institutes.

The AfD wants to prohibit private cell phone use at school through grade 7 by regulation. Digital learning platforms are to be expanded from grade 5 but must not replace in-person teaching. The party regards artificial intelligence as an aid.

The AfD wants to ban phones at school through grade 7. Exceptions apply only in emergencies or if the teacher allows it. From grade 8, each school decides for itself. Digital learning should not replace lessons in the classroom.

From grade 8, school conferences are to set their own binding rules for phones on school grounds. According to the platform, the state's Digital School must not crowd out on-site teaching, because education is above all about relationships. Capable learning platforms are to combine digital content with traditional materials. School-based or municipal IT providers are to relieve teachers of setting up and maintaining devices.

The AfD wants to give teachers more disciplinary powers by law. In cases of violence and drug offenses, students are to be expelled much more quickly. According to the platform, the goal is schools that do not need police operations.

The AfD wants to give teachers more ways to punish. Students should be expelled faster for violence or drugs. Teachers should have more authority again. The AfD thinks schools will then need fewer police visits.

The platform states that police operations at schools nearly quadrupled within five years. Reported incidents of violence by students against teachers rose from 138 to 321 over the same period, it says. The AfD blames a school and social policy that it says weakens teachers' authority and limits sanctions under the school law. It explicitly does not seek more police in schoolyards.

The AfD wants to expand vocational education and reopen more vocational school locations, especially in the east of the state. To do so, it would allow smaller classes. Master craftsmen and industrial foremen would be recruited to teach at vocational schools to reduce canceled lessons and the teacher shortage.

The AfD wants more vocational schools in the state. Classes may be smaller than today. Master craftsmen should teach at these schools. Students should do more internships.

Science and hands-on content in school and career-preparation internships would be expanded. The existing internship bonus in the skilled trades would stay, and the AfD would look into extending it to other occupations. Funding programs would support training in shortage occupations, including traditional crafts such as sailmakers, thatchers and church painters. The program also calls for a statewide ticket for apprentices and lower minimum class sizes at vocational schools. Digital lessons would supplement in-person teaching, particularly in statewide specialist classes. Weekly teaching hours for practical instructors would be reduced to make the job more attractive to master craftsmen.

The AfD wants universities to be guided by quality standards rather than graduate numbers and wants to raise their base funding. It prefers a classical, holistic idea of education over the Bologna system. The law degree leading to the state examination would be offered again in Rostock.

The AfD wants to give universities more steady money. Quality should matter, not the number of degrees. Rostock should again offer a law degree with a state exam. Student aid applications should be handled digitally sooner.

The program criticizes that university funding was tied to the number of graduates and rejects the modular Bologna system as too school-like. Aptitude tests across all subjects should be considered so universities can select students more precisely. Third-party funding should reward excellence on top, not fill gaps left by the state. The University of Rostock has not offered a law degree leading to the state examination since 2008; the AfD wants it back because of a shortage of new judges, prosecutors and lawyers. Student service organizations would get working groups to help introduce electronic files for BAföG (student aid) applications by the 2027 summer semester instead of the end of 2029.

The AfD wants to charge tuition fees to students from countries outside the EU. It justifies this with a higher dropout rate in this group and the fact that many return to their home country after graduating.

Students from countries outside the EU should pay to study. The fee would be at least 1,500 euros per semester. The AfD says many of them drop out or leave afterward. It says people who pay try harder.

At present, citizens of non-EU countries study in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern free of charge. In the future they would pay at least 1,500 euros per semester, depending on the subject. According to the program, a personal financial contribution creates commitment and increases the motivation to finish the degree.