CDU on education

The CDU wants to introduce a compulsory preschool year for children with a documented need for language support. The platform argues that equal educational opportunity requires sufficient German skills.

Some children do not speak German well before school starts. These children should have to attend preschool for one year. There they should learn better German. That should help them keep up in school.

According to the platform, nearly half of children tested before starting school in Bremen and more than half in Bremerhaven need language support; for about a quarter, the need persists at the start of school. The platform sees understanding and speaking German as key to taking part in class. The CDU cites Hamburg's model as its guide, which it says has demonstrably worked.

The CDU wants to deploy IT specialists as "digital caretakers" in schools so that technology works and teachers are relieved. Computer science would also become a separate subject from lower secondary level. Digital learning is meant to add to in-person teaching, not replace it.

The CDU wants to hire tech experts for schools. They look after computers and Wi-Fi. Teachers then have more time for teaching. Computer science should become its own school subject.

The digital caretakers would be trained IT staff, each looking after one or more schools and networking with one another to bring schools to a uniform digital standard. Basic computer science content would already be taught in elementary school within existing subjects. Every classroom would get reliable Wi-Fi, video conferencing, and presentation equipment, and follow-up funding would be arranged for the mobile devices already purchased. The learning platform "itslearning" and school administration software would be merged into one school portal for students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with tiered access rights for data protection. School administration would go largely paperless.

The CDU wants to give vocational schools more staff and resources and to present vocational training as equal to academic education. Career orientation would be expanded and begin as early as fourth grade.

The CDU wants to equip vocational schools better. They should get more staff and more materials. Children should learn about jobs as early as fourth grade. Job training should count as much as a university degree.

A special program would improve the equipment and staffing of vocational schools. Higher-level qualifications at DQR level 7 (the German qualifications framework) would become more widely available there, and the site planning with its campus concept would be carried out on schedule. Shop class in elementary school and the subject Wirtschaft-Arbeit-Technik (economics, work, technology) would be strengthened. Career orientation would include tools such as a career choice passport, internships, student companies, and job fairs, and would involve the employment agency, businesses, and parents. Rigid block teaching would be made more flexible where needed so that part-time training, for example for single parents, remains possible; vocational high schools would also be strengthened.

The CDU wants to convert every elementary school in the state into an all-day school and expand such offerings at secondary schools too. Schools would work more closely with sports clubs and child and youth welfare providers.

All elementary schools should become all-day schools. That means children are at school in the afternoon too. Sports clubs should take part there. There should be a third PE lesson each week.

Following Scandinavian examples, schools would become open houses and meeting places in their neighborhoods. The afternoon program would leave room for activities that strengthen children and young people, with school psychologists and school social workers easy to reach. Funding for cooperation between schools and sports clubs would be put on a reliable footing. The CDU also wants to implement a third weekly physical education lesson.

The CDU wants to extend the LALE learning assessment to more grade levels and eventually have all schools take part. The platform says such tests give teachers the basis for individual support.

The CDU wants to check more often what students already know. The test is called LALE. More grades should take it. Teachers can then help each child better.

The CDU expects the Institut für Qualitätsentwicklung Bremen (IQHB, Bremen's quality development institute) to deliver noticeable input for improving teaching. Civic education would be supported through projects such as "Die Juniorwahl" and "Jugend debattiert." Bilingual teaching would be offered more often again and the "AbiBac" (a German-French dual diploma) would continue to be supported. STEM teaching would be strengthened starting in elementary school, and school specializations such as aerospace at Gymnasium Vegesack or Latin at the Altes Gymnasium would keep receiving support.

The CDU wants to preserve the existing Gymnasium schools (academic-track high schools) in Bremen and Bremerhaven. It also wants a new Gymnasium built in western Bremen, in the Walle and Gröpelingen area.

The CDU wants to keep all Gymnasium schools in Bremen and Bremerhaven. A Gymnasium is an academic high school. A new one should be built in western Bremen. It should be in Walle or Gröpelingen.

The platform supports keeping the current Gymnasium schools in both cities. The CDU wants to push ahead with building an additional Gymnasium in central western Bremen. It names Walle and Gröpelingen as possible districts.

The CDU wants to give schools in socially strained neighborhoods better infrastructure and priority for additional staff. It argues that school success in Bremen depends more on parents' income than anywhere else in Germany.

Some neighborhoods have many social problems. Schools there should get more help. They should get better buildings and more staff. All children should have the same chances.

Under the heading "Talent-Schule," schools in such neighborhoods in Bremen and Bremerhaven would get extra staff as a priority. The work of the teaching staff there would receive additional reward. The CDU also wants to gradually establish school social work at every secondary school.

The CDU wants to improve staffing and facilities for inclusive schooling while keeping the specialized support centers. Applications for children with special needs are to be processed faster, and the job of school assistant is to become more attractive.

In Bremen, children with and without disabilities learn together. The CDU wants more staff and better rooms for this. Special support schools should stay. Help for children should come faster. No child should miss school because an assistant is missing.

The platform calls for assessments and support in daycare to happen within the legal deadlines instead of up to a year and a half later. The offices for health, social affairs and education are to get enough capacity and work together more closely. Parents should be able to report a child's support needs in the online daycare registration, in line with data protection rules, so help is ready on day one. The support centers for vision, hearing, and physical and motor development are to remain. Together with providers, the CDU wants to make the school assistant job more attractive. The party also counts support for gifted children as part of inclusive schooling.

The CDU wants every type of school to have more teachers than are mathematically needed to cover lessons. To get there, it wants easier entry into the profession, more university and teacher-training places, and an interstate treaty to coordinate teacher training nationwide.

Bremen and Bremerhaven do not have enough teachers. The CDU wants more places for teacher studies and practical training. Getting into the job should become easier. The German states should set shared rules for teacher training.

Entry into teaching is to be made easier, for example by allowing teachers with only one subject. The CDU seeks a treaty among the German states that sets uniform conditions for coordinated teacher training. Working with the University of Bremen, the state institute for schools and Bremerhaven's teacher training institute, it wants more students to choose shortage subjects such as STEM and computer science and to do their practical training in the state. At large schools, a pilot is to test whether administrative managers can relieve principals. A plan is to secure enough teachers in all districts, including Bremen-Nord, and working conditions, including buildings, are to improve.

The CDU wants to preserve independently run schools and give them room to develop. It considers the state's current subsidies, based on per-student cost rates, to be a disadvantage and wants to replace them with a new funding model.

Some schools are not run by the state but by independent groups. The CDU wants to keep these schools. The state should pay them in a new way. Costs for materials and buildings should count too.

The platform describes independent schools as an essential part of school provision and as a driver of new teaching ideas. In the CDU's view, today's subsidies rest on arbitrarily set per-student cost rates. The new model is to cover, among other things, material costs and these schools' investment needs.

The CDU wants to create additional school space and significantly speed up both new construction and renovation of schools. When old buildings are renovated, restrooms are to come first.

Many elementary schools in Bremen are too full. The CDU wants to build new school rooms. Building and repairs should go faster. Old school restrooms should be fixed first.

According to the platform, elementary schools in particular are overcrowded. Official planning is to become more reliable and transparent, and the CDU wants to review processes and structures. It considers staffing and structural changes necessary at the municipal property company Immobilien-Bremen. No school restroom should date from the 20th century anymore; restrooms should be safe and clean, especially for girls. The party also wants to examine how menstrual products and condoms can be handed out there for free, taking an ongoing pilot project into account.

The CDU wants elementary schools to add number grades from third grade on, alongside the current form of assessment. Children who are too weak in reading, writing and math after fourth grade are to receive mandatory extra support.

Elementary schools should give number grades starting in third grade. The current feedback stays too. Weak students should get extra learning time after fourth grade. This support should be required.

The party argues that children need clear feedback to assess themselves. A recognized need for support is to be addressed individually already in elementary school. The goal is for all children to reach the nationwide competency levels in German and math by the end of fourth grade. Those who do not are to get binding individual support in extra learning time so they can succeed in secondary school.

The CDU wants students who fail to meet the goals of their grade to be able to repeat the year, and says they should. Beforehand, learning gaps are to be analyzed and binding support measures set.

Some students do not reach the goal of their grade. They should be able to repeat the year. First the school checks what the student is missing. Then the student gets fixed help with learning.

The platform criticizes that in Bremen a student can move on all the way to graduation even with three failing grades, while final exams do not get easier. It points out that almost one in ten leaves school without a diploma, twice the national average. Repeating a year is to be accompanied by mandatory support measures. In the CDU's view, this gives everyone a foundation for a self-determined life.

The CDU wants to introduce a school subject called Lebenskunde (life skills), including so-called happiness lessons, starting in elementary school. Children are to learn how to handle feelings such as worries and fears; the party points to the rising number of children and teens with mental illness.

The CDU wants a new school subject. It is about life skills. Children learn how to deal with worries and fear. It also covers exercise, food, money and media. The subject should start in elementary school.

According to the platform, the number of children and teens with mental illness in Germany doubled between 2008 and 2019, and the Covid pandemic made this worse. It names social media, cyberbullying, lack of exercise and family problems among the causes. Help is said to work better the earlier and more easily accessible it is. Exercise and healthy eating are to play a major part in the lessons. Media literacy, contracts, handling money and personal life planning are to be covered as well.

The CDU stands by Bremen's cross-party education consensus of 2008 and its 2018 extension. It is dissatisfied with implementation, however, and wants educational success to depend less on social background and Gymnasien (academic-track high schools) to be considered equally when new schools are founded.

The parties in Bremen have a shared agreement on schools. The CDU wants to keep it. But it says the agreement is carried out poorly. Children from poor families should get better chances. New schools should also include academic-track high schools.

The party sees itself as the initiator of the 2008 consensus, which in its account saved the Gymnasien in the state. It invokes the principle that agreements must be kept. At the same time, it notes that nowhere in Germany are social background and educational success as closely linked as in Bremen. When new schools are founded, it says, the Gymnasium is not given equal consideration despite continuing demand.

The CDU wants to strengthen civic education at schools and reach an agreement between the state of Bremen and the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) for this purpose. Youth officers are to be able to explain security policy topics in class without recruiting.

Students should learn more about politics and democracy. The CDU wants to work with the German armed forces on this. Army experts should talk about security in schools. They should not advertise jobs there.

The platform points to other German states where specially trained youth officers add to lessons with school visits, educational trips and simulation games. The planned arrangement is to set out shared agreements and goals. Students are to be able to have experts explain the world situation to them in a factual way. The CDU also says it will act politically against attempts to place the Bundeswehr outside democratic society or to portray soldiers as warmongers.

The CDU wants to get more young people into vocational training and better match supply and demand on the training market. The Jugendberufsagentur (youth employment agency) would manage the transition systematically and actively reach out to young people. No student should leave school without a diploma.

The CDU wants more young people to find a training place. The youth employment agency should help more. Its staff should go out and talk to young people. Everyone should leave school with a diploma.

The more than 50 support programs at the school-to-work transition would be evaluated using key figures and deployed more effectively. More part-time training places would let single parents complete training. Disadvantaged young people would be placed first in programs leading to a qualification, such as Bremen's vocational qualification (BQ) and entry-level qualification (EQ). Vocational schools would expand options to catch up on diplomas, remedial lessons, language learning, and school social work. Joint placement drives with chambers and associations and programs against dropping out are also planned. The standing of vocational occupations, especially in trades and nursing, is to be raised.

The CDU wants to bring university facilities and student housing into Bremen's city center. Existing sites of the Hochschule Bremen and the Hochschule für Künste are to serve as the basis.

The CDU wants more students in the center of Bremen. People should study there and also live there. There should be student dorms. The city library should also get a new home.

The CDU can imagine moving legal education into the police building on the Wall, close to the courts. In its view, the city library should move into the former Sparkasse building at the Brill. The university, the student services organization, other people active at the universities, and the property owners are to be involved. The party also wants to push for one or more student dorms in the center.

The CDU wants more training and continuing education in occupations that matter for climate protection and wants to found a climate campus with a training center in Bremen-Nord. The platform justifies this with a shortage of tradespeople and specialists for the energy transition.

Many skilled workers are missing for the energy transition. So the CDU wants more training in climate jobs. A climate campus should be built in Bremen-Nord. People learn these jobs there.

According to the platform, at least 440,000 skilled workers are lacking nationwide by 2030, and Bremen faces a gap of up to 50 percent in some key occupations by 2040. Planned are training, retraining, catch-up qualification and a long-term advertising campaign for these jobs. The 2019 skilled labor strategy is to be revised with chambers, associations and the employment agency. People with a migration background are to get tailored advice, and foreign qualifications are to be recognized more easily. The climate campus is to secure continuing education for tradespeople together with the climate construction center.

The CDU wants to make climate, environment and sustainability a permanent part of education, from kindergarten through school, vocational training and beyond. Teaching staff are to receive regular training for this.

Children should learn about climate and the environment early. This should start in daycare and continue in school. Daycare workers and teachers should take regular courses on it.

The topics are to have a fixed place in daycare, school, vocational training and beyond. Daycare directors, staff and school teachers are to be made more aware of climate and environmental protection through regular training.

The CDU wants to reliably fund the core budgets of the university and the other higher-education institutions, reaching at least the national average. The Wissenschaftsplan 2025 (the state's science plan) is to be fully funded. The platform argues that Bremen has ranked near the bottom on core funding for years.

The CDU wants to give universities more money. Bremen should pay at least as much as the German states do on average. The science plan for 2025 should also get enough money. This is the state's plan for its universities.

According to the platform, Bremen most recently ranked 14th among the German states in core funding. The CDU wants to set matching priorities in the budget and in investment planning, also with federal support. Companies and other private institutions are to be allowed to help finance universities. In addition, more supra-regional grants and third-party funds are to be obtained.

The CDU wants to scrap the Zivilklausel (civil clause), which commits universities to research for civilian purposes only. In the party's view, it hampers research on technologies with both civilian and military uses and weakens Bremen's competitiveness.

The CDU wants to end the civil clause. This rule only allows universities to do research for peaceful purposes. The CDU says the rule slows research down. Universities should decide for themselves.

The platform lists affected fields such as artificial intelligence, satellite and propulsion technology, climate technologies, robotics, and communication systems. After abolition, universities would decide case by case on partnerships and dual-use applications. The CDU expects closer cooperation between research and business, especially with aerospace, satellite technology, and software development.

The CDU wants the University of Bremen to succeed again in the next round of applications for Clusters of Excellence and pledges support for this. It also wants to reduce administrative burdens for researchers and create more permanent positions for mid-level academic staff.

The CDU wants Bremen to be among the best places for research again. The university should win funding for top research again. Researchers should have less paperwork. More university staff should get permanent jobs.

The platform wants to secure the infrastructure needed for top-level research. It explicitly recognizes Constructor University in Bremen-Nord as an asset and wants to give young researchers a public platform. Research applications and documentation are to require less effort, and rules are to become easier to understand; the CDU also wants to push for this at the federal level. For mid-level academic staff, it aims for more reliability through permanent employment.

The CDU wants a single strategy for science marketing that is linked with the city marketing of both cities. This is meant to raise student numbers considerably. In addition, better study counseling and talent scouting in schools are meant to ease the path to university for young people from non-academic families.

The CDU wants to promote Bremen more as a place for science. More young people should then study in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Schools should spot gifted students early and advise them. Going to university should not depend on a student's family.

The platform names a target of 43,000 students statewide in the text and 40,000 in its bullet list; 5,000 of them are to study in Bremerhaven. The CDU expects new residents to move to both cities and later stay as skilled workers for Bremen companies. Bremen is to become more visible nationally and internationally as a science location. Talent scouting is aimed at high-performing students.

The CDU wants to expand the range of degree programs, above all by building structures for training physicians, with a dedicated medical faculty in the medium term. It also plans programs in sports education, software development, and computer science teacher training. The platform justifies this with the shortage of skilled workers.

The CDU wants new degree programs in Bremen. People should be able to study medicine in Bremen in the future. Sports teachers and computer science teachers should also be trained here. The CDU wants to gain more skilled workers this way.

According to the platform, Bremen is the only German state without university-level medical training. The teacher-training program in sports education at the university is to be revived and the sports facilities modernized. Practice-oriented training of software developers is to grow with the involvement of Constructor University; the platform points to about 137,000 missing IT specialists in Germany. At the same time, duplicate structures, for example in business administration, are to be avoided and cross-state cooperation increased, without narrowing the range of subjects.

The CDU wants to reduce the renovation backlog at universities and improve the campus atmosphere in the process. Shortages of rooms and lecture halls are to be addressed through reliable investment planning and additional funds, including a new lecture hall and event center at the university.

The CDU wants to repair university buildings. There should be more rooms and lecture halls. A new center with lecture halls should be built at the university. Good buildings should make Bremen more attractive for students.

The platform names renovation as the first priority for good study conditions. The work is to be linked with local services and infrastructure. The CDU sees good conditions as an advantage in competing for students. It pledges predictable funding for rooms and lecture halls.

The CDU wants to use state funds to support the creation of student housing and to bring in additional providers alongside the Studierendenwerk (student services organization). Applications for BAföG (federal student aid) are to be processed faster. In addition, psychosocial counseling at universities is to be expanded.

The CDU wants more housing for students. The state should provide money for this. Applications for BAföG should be handled faster. BAföG is money from the state for studying. Students with mental health problems should get more counseling.

The platform notes that housing is becoming scarcer, especially in the city of Bremen. Private providers are also to become active in student housing. The CDU justifies faster BAföG processing by saying students need the money for housing costs. On counseling, it cites studies showing that one in ten students has mental health problems, which it says worsened during the pandemic.

The CDU wants to provide more money for digitalizing universities and to equip teaching rooms with the necessary technology. Digital and hybrid teaching formats are to be a regular part of studying. The party wants to turn this into a flagship project for Bremen and Bremerhaven.

The CDU wants to make universities more digital. There should be more money for this. Rooms should get modern technology. Students should also be able to learn online.

The platform points to experience with digital and hybrid teaching during the pandemic. Virtual courses and a digital campus are meant to support continuing education at universities, among other things. The CDU expects more effective university and exam administration as well as new international and multilingual programs. Blended teaching is meant to combine in-person and online learning.

The CDU wants to expand international exchange among teaching staff and students by giving more support to Erasmus+ and to lecturer mobility. International degree programs are meant to bring more students from abroad to Bremen.

The CDU wants more exchange with other countries. Students and teachers should be able to go abroad more easily. The Erasmus program exists for this. More young people from abroad should also study in Bremen.

According to the platform, universities should benefit more from academic exchange within Europe. Both Erasmus+ and Erasmus lecturer mobility are to receive support. The plans address students from European and non-European countries.

The CDU wants students doing a practical semester with the state of Bremen and its institutions to receive at least 400 euros a month. The same amount is to apply as an allowance in companies majority-owned by the state or the city of Bremen.

Some students work in a public office for one semester. The CDU wants them to get paid for this. It should be at least 400 euros a month. This should also apply in companies owned by Bremen.

The rule is to cover Bremen's public service as well as subordinate institutions and public-law bodies. The platform's bullet list also mentions internships and similar placements alongside practical semesters. The CDU's reasoning is that students, too, need money to live on.

The CDU wants to strengthen institutions that make science accessible to the public, such as the Universum Science Center, the Klimahaus, and museums. A new Kosmoskop in downtown Bremen is to be added, which is also meant to attract tourists.

The CDU wants to support places where everyone can experience science. These include museums and the Klimahaus. A Kosmoskop should be built in downtown Bremen. There, people can discover the stars and the deep sea.

The platform describes a Kosmoskop as an expanded planetarium that shows the deep sea as well as the night sky. It is meant to foster understanding of the environment and draw visitors to the city center. Existing learning venues outside schools and universities, such as a facility in Bremen-Horn, are to be strengthened. Children and families should have places where science becomes tangible.

The CDU wants climate protection and sustainability to play a larger role in the training of future teachers and early childhood educators. The aim is for these topics to be better integrated into lessons and everyday school life later on.

The CDU wants future teachers to learn more about climate protection. This also applies to daycare staff. Then they can teach the topic better at school.

The plan is to be carried out through the target agreements with the university in Bremen. It covers student teachers for all school levels, early childhood educators, and career changers entering teaching. In addition, universities are to strengthen climate protection across their whole operation, including teaching, research, administration, and infrastructure.

The CDU wants to promote the exchange of knowledge and technology between universities, businesses, and society. In its view, research results should be put to use and make Bremen and Bremerhaven more innovative.

The CDU wants researchers and companies to work together more closely. Research results should be used. Citizens should also be able to take part in research.

Companies that cooperate with research institutions are to be encouraged more strongly to settle in the region. Universities, regardless of who runs them, are to work more closely with each other and with business, trade, and the skilled crafts; the CDU expects easier movement between work, vocational training, and university study, and better cooperation on doctorates. Citizen science projects, in which members of the public take part in research, are to be supported. The CDU also wants to bring scientific advice into policymaking early and to improve coordination among the relevant government departments.

The CDU wants to create religious education in Bremen that is tied to a specific denomination. It sees knowledge of one's own religion and of other religions as a basis for tolerance and living together.

The CDU wants a new kind of religion class. The class is tied to one faith. Children should know their own religion. They should also know other religions. The CDU says this helps people be tolerant.

The classes are meant to stress what the religions have in common. They should also allow students to find their own religious orientation and to think critically. The CDU plans to talk with churches and religious communities about how to set up and design the classes. It also wants to prevent faith from becoming a trigger for hatred or violence.

The CDU wants health education, prevention, and first-aid and resuscitation courses to become a fixed part of school lessons and backs a school subject called "Lebenskunde" (life skills) for this purpose. Mental health services are also to be expanded because, according to the program, such illnesses have been rising for years.

Children are to learn more about health at school. First-aid courses are to start in first grade. The CDU wants a new school subject for this. It is to be called life skills. There is also to be more help for mental health.

First-aid and resuscitation courses are to begin as early as first grade; the program points to experience in the Scandinavian countries. A subject called "Lebenskunde" is meant to secure these topics permanently. Schools are to teach about mental illness early on to counter stigma. Support and care structures for children and parents are to grow, including digital services. Cooperation between the health system and youth welfare services is to improve.

The CDU wants to broaden consumer education in schools in Bremen and Bremerhaven. The consumer advice center is to receive enough funding to offer talks and workshops there. Digital information services and media literacy for all age groups are also to be promoted.

Students are to learn more about their rights as buyers. The consumer advice center is to visit schools for this. It gets more money to do so. There is also to be more information and advice online.

The party sees preventive education as a core part of effective consumer protection because, in its view, it stops many problems before they arise. Teaching staff are to have access to continuing training on consumer topics. Digital information and advice are to be available at all times. Because the program says people feel increasingly unsure with digital media, media literacy measures are to be expanded.