CDU on education

The CDU wants to make attending a childcare facility compulsory in the year before a child starts school. Language screening and German-language support in daycare centers are to become mandatory statewide so that all children have a command of German when school begins.

The CDU wants one required year of daycare before school. All children should take a language test. Children who need extra help must attend a preparation course. This way all children should speak good German when school starts.

The party justifies the requirement with equal opportunities for all children at the start of school. Language screenings using the KISS procedure are to take place everywhere in Hesse and be mandatory. Children with special support needs are to attend compulsory preparatory courses before elementary school. Language support in daycare centers is to keep growing.

The CDU wants to keep Hesse's school system with several types of schools and rejects a single comprehensive school for all. Special-needs schools (Förderschulen) are to remain and be expanded as needed; the focus should be on good teaching rather than debates about structure.

The CDU wants to keep the different types of schools in Hesse. It is against one single school for everyone. Special-needs schools should stay and grow where needed. The state should keep spending a lot on schools.

The party invokes the principle of challenging and supporting students and the Christian view of humanity. It opposes removing the differences between school types in teacher training. All stand-alone Realschulen (intermediate secondary schools) are to be allowed to lead students to the basic Hauptschule diploma as well; the pilot project in Eltville becomes permanent for this purpose. The state is to keep investing in teaching positions, modernization, digitalization and relief for schools. Daycare centers and schools are to be overseen together by the education ministry.

The CDU wants to gradually revise the core curricula so that certain content is taught uniformly across Hesse. More practical life skills and knowledge about the stock market and shares are to be added to lessons.

The CDU wants to renew what schools teach. All students in Hesse should learn certain things the same way. They should learn more for daily life, such as contracts and healthy food. They should also learn about stocks.

Reading, writing and arithmetic remain the CDU's priority. The new everyday topics named in the platform are signing contracts, saving for retirement, healthy eating and dealing with fake news online. At the latest in the final grades of every school type, at least one week is to be devoted to the stock market and shares, because the CDU sees low share ownership as an obstacle to building wealth. Centralized final exams are to become more comparable, among other things by testing more anonymized grading. Modern Greek is to be piloted at one Frankfurt school as a second or third foreign language.

The CDU wants to keep expanding all-day programs at schools and hire more staff for them. It rejects compulsory all-day schooling and points to parents' freedom of choice.

The CDU wants more afternoon care at schools. More staff should be hired for this. But parents should decide for themselves. The CDU does not want all-day school to be required.

The 'Pakt für den Ganztag' (all-day pact) is to be strengthened; for the CDU, all-day schooling means individual support, health promotion, homework help and supervised study time. In view of the legal right to all-day care for primary school children from August 1, 2026, it wants to create additional positions and involve various educational professions. Together with the school authorities, more senior citizens are to be recruited to help. Cooperation with clubs, youth fire brigades and aid organizations is to be supported, and an education campus is to be created in every region.

The CDU supports inclusion in schools as a goal but sees limits and does not consider it the best path for every child. It therefore wants to keep Hesse's Förderschulen (special-needs schools) and rejects a single solution for all children.

Children with and without disabilities can learn together. This is called inclusion. The CDU likes this, but not for every child. So special-needs schools should stay.

According to the platform, each child should be looked at individually. The CDU regards special-needs schools as an indispensable part of the school system. It lists as advantages protected spaces, small classes, targeted support, secure transitions into work and everyday life, and specially trained teachers.

The CDU wants to add one more German lesson in grades 1 and 2 and to support math skills even before children start school. Small primary schools are to be kept, especially in rural areas.

Children in grades 1 and 2 should get one more German lesson. There should also be math courses before school starts. Small primary schools in the countryside should stay. That keeps the way to school short.

The math quality initiative is to continue. Modeled on the mandatory German preparatory courses in the year before school entry, the CDU wants to set up a similar offer for math. German as the language of instruction is also to be explicitly strengthened in curricula and teacher training. The platform justifies keeping small primary schools with short routes to school for young children.

The CDU wants to keep numerical grades as well as holding students back, grade repetition and transfers to another school track. At the same time, mandatory learning assessments are to be introduced so students can be supported in a more targeted way.

The CDU wants to keep number grades at school. Students should still be able to repeat a year. New tests of learning progress will be required. They should show teachers what help a child needs.

The CDU's guiding principle is to both challenge and support students. The new diagnostic assessments are to provide data from which support plans for individual children can be derived; progress diagnostics are also to be available from grade 7 and in more subjects than German and math. High-performing and gifted students are to continue receiving support, including through the HIBB advisory center and the Schloss Hansenberg boarding school. The CDU will examine whether the choice of advanced subjects can be made more flexible.

The CDU regards vocational and academic education as equal in value and wants to strengthen dual vocational training. To this end, career guidance is to be expanded, more mandatory internships introduced and all vocational school locations kept.

The CDU says job training is worth as much as university. Students should learn about jobs earlier. There should be more required internships. All vocational schools should stay open.

Career guidance is to get more weight in the middle grades, and voluntary extra internships are to become easier. Skilled trades are to be present as early as primary and lower secondary school through cooperation with vocational schools. The CDU wants to support the Mittelstufenschule (a practice-oriented middle school type), especially in rural areas, with dedicated funding and more company partnerships. Regional models such as the Limburg model or ProBe are to be adopted statewide, and the vocational school pilot for young people without a diploma is to be rolled out across Hesse. To keep a broad range of courses at vocational schools, the CDU wants to examine cross-school teaching and cooperation with neighboring states.

The CDU wants to make training for the Meister (master craftsman), technician and Fachwirt (business specialist) qualifications free of charge. In addition, an advancement grant is to lower financial barriers to continuing education.

People who want to become a master craftsman or technician should no longer pay for it. The CDU also wants to give money for further training. Money should not stand in the way.

The platform describes the master craftsman certificate as a mark of quality and high qualification. The free training is to cover three advanced vocational qualifications. A new advancement grant is to be added.

The CDU wants to offer more free swimming lessons for students and to help municipalities maintain and modernize their pools. Physical activity programs at schools, especially in all-day settings, are to be strengthened together with sports organizations.

More students should learn to swim for free. The CDU wants to help towns with their swimming pools. Schools should offer more sports and exercise. Sports clubs should take part.

Existing programs such as cooperation between schools and sports clubs, the sports helper program, the school swimming pass and the primary school competition of 'Jugend trainiert für Olympia' are to continue and grow. The CDU also wants to keep Hesse's physical fitness check. In selected places, school sports performance centers are to be set up together with large clubs and municipalities. The platform argues that physical activity is essential for children's development.

The CDU wants to pay primary school teachers at the A13 civil-service pay grade and guarantee basic teacher staffing of 105 percent. Additional educational staff, career changers and more funding for schools in difficult settings are to relieve teachers.

Primary school teachers should get more pay. Schools should have more teachers than the minimum they need. Other experts should also help at schools. Schools with many poor children should get more money and staff.

The platform calls the staffing needed for 105 percent teacher supply non-negotiable. Social work positions, IT specialists for administration and data protection, and a business co-principal at schools with more than 500 students are to relieve teachers and principals. Lateral entry and further qualification for shortage teaching fields are to be expanded while both state exams are kept; promotion posts are to be created in the lower secondary tracks. Schools with many children from disadvantaged homes receive more staff and money through a social index. An institute for teacher health and rotation school years are also planned.

The CDU wants schools to continue teaching democracy, values and extremism prevention and to strengthen historical and civic education. It stands by denominational religious instruction and ethics classes and wants to expand child protection, school psychology and suicide prevention.

Students should learn more about democracy and German history. They should visit important places for this. Religion and ethics classes should stay. Muslim children should also get an offer. Schools should protect children better from violence.

Up to grade 7, all school tracks are to get extra lessons for class council sessions. All students are to visit sites of German democratic history, such as St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt or border memorials. The CDU wants to ensure a dedicated class offering for Muslim children. Violence prevention and child protection are to be expanded with state money for school authorities, along with mandatory child protection training. More school health staff, more first-aid courses, expanded school psychology and a statewide coordination project on suicide prevention are added.

The CDU wants vocational and academic education to be treated equally in law, funding and schooling. Vocational schools are to be better equipped, and students are to come into contact with skilled trades earlier.

The CDU wants job training to count as much as a college degree. Vocational schools get modern equipment and more teachers. Children should learn more about skilled trades at school. There will be a skilled trades day at schools.

Lower and intermediate secondary schools (Haupt- and Realschulen) are to become centers for vocational education with new focus areas, and elementary schools are to give more class time to crafts and design. Vocational schools are to get modern equipment, more teachers and secure locations across the state; a dedicated municipal investment program is being considered. Together with the trades, the CDU plans apprentice campuses that combine living, learning and working. Training support programs are to continue, the "Wirtschaft integriert" program is to be expanded, and an app for matching apprenticeships is to be developed. The party wants the federal government to examine whether apprentices can be exempted from social insurance contributions.

The CDU wants to set up a separate Hessian ministry for research and technology and to conclude a "Stärke-Pakt" (strength pact) with universities, research institutions and business. Permit applications for research projects are to be free of charge in the future.

The CDU wants a separate ministry for research and technology. Universities, researchers and firms should agree on a pact. Applications for research should no longer cost money. This should keep Hesse at the top in research.

The program justifies the plan by saying that innovation secures future jobs, prosperity and social cohesion. The new ministry is meant to pool the state's efforts in research and technology. The pact is meant to raise public awareness of research and provide new impetus so that Hesse stays attractive for top staff and young researchers. The fee waiver applies to applications from universities and private companies alike.

The CDU wants to raise universities' core funding in the next higher education pact from 2025 and give them more independence again. Rising costs are not to come at the expense of research and teaching.

Universities should get more fixed money from the state from 2025. Prices and building costs are rising. Research and teaching should not suffer from this. Universities should also be allowed to decide more on their own.

Recent changes to the higher education act are to be reviewed for whether they limit university autonomy. Digitalization, as a permanent task, is to get its own line in core funding; tenure track, the 300 W program, practical semesters, teacher training and psychotherapy are to be included there too. The program cites inflation, energy prices and construction costs as reasons for the added need. For university medicine, the CDU seeks a third funding pillar from the state and federal governments and wants to keep funding university hospitals adequately.

The CDU wants to increase funds for the university construction programs HEUREKA and COME and launch a new HEUREKA DIGITAL program for digital infrastructure. An expanded digital pact, a shared university portal and a statewide student app are to follow.

The CDU wants to give more money for university buildings. A new program should improve digital technology at universities. All universities should get one shared online portal. An app should replace the student ID card. Administration should become simpler.

The new "Digitalpakt Hochschule" is meant, among other things, to expand high-performance computing. The cloud-based university portal is to offer a shared security architecture; a joint online library is under review. The student app is to include a digital ID, library access, cafeteria payment and the semester transit ticket. Universities that wish to are to find it easier to manage their own construction projects. University administration is to be cut back, budget management simplified and protection against cyberattacks expanded, along with training on artificial intelligence.

The CDU wants to improve the ratio of teaching staff to students by reforming the teaching-load regulation and capacity law. It adds better student advising, more permanent positions for mid-level academic staff and a more focused range of bachelor's programs.

The CDU wants to improve teaching at universities. There should be fewer students per teacher. Advice for students should get better. More university staff should get permanent jobs. More students should finish their studies successfully.

The program will review whether more courses can switch to bachelor's degrees and whether the bachelor's offering is too fragmented; state-regulated professions keep the state examination. Blended in-person and online teaching is to be expanded. Plans include talent scouting, support for gifted students, a STEM pilot project and closer cooperation between schools and universities. Dual study programs will continue to be supported, and state funding for vocational academies and private study centers is to be reorganized. The CDU also wants to strengthen scholarships and set incentives for system accreditation.

The CDU wants to continue and increase the funding program for student housing and strengthen the student services organizations. It also wants to examine whether the broadcasting fee can be lowered or dropped for trainees and students.

The CDU wants to fund more housing for students. Cafeteria food should stay cheap and healthy. The CDU will check whether students and trainees can pay less for the broadcasting fee. It will also watch BAföG. BAföG is state money for studying.

Student housing remains a focus of the state's housing construction funding. Universities are to make sure locally that cafeteria meals stay affordable and healthy. The CDU wants to work toward abolishing the second-home tax for students who are politically active in rural areas. The effect of the federal BAföG (student aid) reform is to be monitored and changes proposed where needed. At the federal level, the CDU backs free and legally secure use of digital learning content.

The CDU wants Hesse to gain a University of Excellence and to continue and develop the LOEWE research program. Major research sites such as FAIR, hessian.AI and the ESA in Darmstadt are to be strengthened.

Hesse should get a University of Excellence. That is a university with a special award. The LOEWE research program should continue. The state and private firms should do research together. Large research centers in Darmstadt should grow.

Alongside LOEWE, the CDU wants to fund private excellence research and build excellence clusters as public-private partnerships, starting with existing clusters from pharma to aerospace. The LOEWE budget will be evaluated, and successful projects are to be made permanent and linked with non-university research. The Hessen Horizon program for EU research funds is to be expanded. The FAIR accelerator center, the AI center hessian.AI and cybersecurity research are to be advanced. The CDU wants a visitor center at the ESA in Darmstadt and wants Hesse to become a full site of the German Aerospace Center.