CDU on education

The CDU wants to make North Rhine-Westphalia the leading state for vocational training, working with business, the social partners and the chambers. For workers hit especially hard by structural change, it plans a drive for further and continuing education.

The CDU wants to strengthen job training in companies. It should count as much as a university degree. Workers should find it easier to learn new skills. This matters most where the economy is changing a lot.

Conditions for in-company and inter-company training are to keep improving, and vocational and academic education are to be treated as equal in value. The CDU wants to give special support to regional training alliances so that changing careers is possible at any age. The Bildungsscheck NRW (a state training voucher) is to be improved further. Mobile work and co-working spaces are also to be supported in order to strengthen rural regions. The platform justifies this with the need to secure skilled workers.

The CDU wants to retain the tiered school system with its different school types and to keep special-needs schools (Förderschulen), expanding them as needed. At the same time, teachers at mainstream schools are to get more help with inclusive teaching. In the platform's view, this variety secures freedom of choice and nurtures different talents.

North Rhine-Westphalia has different types of schools. The CDU wants to keep it that way. Special-needs schools should also stay. Children who need support should also be able to learn at regular schools. Teachers there should get more help.

The platform stresses mobility between school types and the chance to earn qualifications later. It regards special-needs schools as an integral part of an inclusive school system rather than the opposite of inclusion. Preschool preparation is to be intensified, and minimum class sizes should take the size of the municipality into account so that routes to school stay short. The CDU also wants to expand heritage-language instruction to improve language skills.

The CDU wants to turn all schools in socially difficult settings into Talentschulen (talent schools). These are to receive more staff and better facilities. Teachers there are to get extra pay for outstanding performance.

Some schools have many children in difficult circumstances. The CDU wants to make all of these schools talent schools. Talent schools get more teachers and better buildings. Teachers there should get extra pay for special achievements.

According to the platform, the state currently has 60 Talentschulen. In future the model is to apply to every school facing particular social strain. Better infrastructure, additional staff, and performance bonuses for the teachers working there are planned.

The CDU wants to make leading a school more attractive. Principals are to teach fewer classes and get help from administrative specialists. The platform wants stronger management skills at the top of schools.

Schools need good principals. The CDU wants to make this job more attractive. Principals should have to teach fewer classes. Administrative staff should help them. This should make schools run better.

Principals should be able to give up part of their teaching load. Administrative specialists are to assist them in day-to-day school life. With stronger management skills at the top, the CDU wants to make school operations more professional.

The CDU wants to expand digital learning in regular classroom teaching and give every child a digital device. Digital methods are meant to supplement lessons, not replace them. School authorities would receive a flat-rate digital grant.

The CDU wants more digital learning at school. Every child should get a device, such as a tablet. Normal classroom teaching should stay. Towns and cities should get money for the technology.

The program calls for revising curricula so that digital skills are always tied to media literacy. A flat-rate digital grant would give school authorities ongoing support for devices, digital infrastructure and its operation. At the federal level, the CDU wants unspent money from the DigitalPakt Schule 1 (federal school digitalization fund) to remain available under an extended deadline, and it wants to define the investment needed for a second fund. Learning platforms and privacy-compliant apps are to be developed further, and existing offerings bundled in a Bildungscloud.NRW. The stated goal remains that all children can read, write and do arithmetic by the end of primary school.

The CDU wants to strengthen teaching in math, computer science, natural sciences and technology (STEM). Computer science is to be expanded and become a subject for the Abitur (university entrance exam). More STEM teachers are to be trained.

The CDU wants more teaching in STEM subjects. STEM means math, computer science, science and technology. Computer science should become a subject in the final school exam. There should be more teachers for these subjects.

The program calls for training more teachers in STEM subjects. People switching into teaching from other careers are to find it easier to qualify, so that enough teachers are available. STEM education standards are to be defined for general studies lessons in primary school.

The CDU wants to turn more primary schools into family centers and keep expanding the Offener Ganztag (voluntary all-day school program). It welcomes the legal right to an all-day place from 2026 but insists the federal government contribute permanently to the costs. The aim is to make it easier to combine family and work.

The CDU wants more all-day places at primary schools. From 2026, children have a right to such a place. The federal government should help pay for this for good. Primary schools should also become places where families get advice.

Following the model of family centers at daycare facilities, primary schools are to become neighborhood hubs that advise and support children and parents. Sites facing many challenges in particular are to be secured this way. The voluntary all-day program is to be as flexible as possible for families and meet a quality standard. Primary schools are also to be able to offer compulsory all-day schooling. The program points to heavy financial burdens for the state and municipalities resulting from the legal entitlement.

The CDU wants to hire another 10,000 teachers within five years. Pay for primary and lower secondary teachers is to be aligned with that of upper secondary teachers. Multi-professional teams are to relieve teachers of other tasks.

The CDU wants to hire 10,000 new teachers. This should happen within five years. Primary school teachers should get better pay. Other experts should help at schools, such as social workers.

Because training for all teaching careers is now equally long, the program wants pay rules to reflect this. Teachers already in service are to be able to move up to pay grade A13 through modular qualification courses; this also applies to graduates with shorter degrees from other German states. The best graduates of teacher training are to be guaranteed a job each year, regardless of actual demand. For relieving teachers, the program lists school social workers, school psychologists, IT specialists and administrative staff, among others.

The CDU wants to review and reform the state's teacher training law. Future primary school teachers would study two compulsory subjects instead of three. Professional development for teachers is to be expanded, especially on digital topics.

The CDU wants to change how teachers are trained. People who want to teach at primary schools should study only two subjects. Today they study three. There should also be more training courses for working teachers.

One of the two subjects in the primary teaching degree is to remain German or math; the party expects this to make the degree more attractive and reduce dropouts. Also planned are a push for shortage subjects with incentives for students, training on children's mental health and on dealing with extremist attitudes, and stronger civic education. Universities are to be more involved in professional development, and research on teacher education is to get more support. A more flexible working-time model for teachers is meant to secure lessons quickly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Combining studies with a side job at a school is to become easier.

The CDU stands by denominational religious education taught in German under German school supervision. It wants to support an Islamic theology faculty in Münster. In the long run, imams and teachers of Islamic religion are to be trained in German in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The CDU wants to keep religious education at schools. It should be taught in German. The state should supervise it. A faculty for Islamic theology should be built up in Münster. In the future, imams should be trained in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The program notes that denominational religious education is guaranteed by the Basic Law, Germany's constitution. The establishment of the faculty in Münster is to receive funding. The planned training is aimed at imams and religion teachers who, in the party's view, uphold constitutional values and do not depend on governments of other countries.

The CDU regards vocational and academic education as equal in value and wants to strengthen dual vocational training (combined company and school training). Lower secondary school qualifications are to be geared more toward vocational training. Vocational schools are to get more staff and modernized buildings.

The CDU wants to strengthen job training. More young people should train in a company. Students should do internships in businesses. Vocational schools should get more teachers and better buildings.

Schooling is to include more practical phases and be linked more closely with skilled trades and industry. The transition program "Kein Abschluss ohne Anschluss" (no graduation without a next step) is to be developed further and focused more on young people who need support. Together with the chambers, the CDU wants to draft a plan so that all students do internships in a trade or industrial company. The federal training guarantee is to be implemented with the partners of the state's training alliance. Dormitories for apprentices are to be explored; the number of school leavers without a diploma is to fall, and dissatisfied university students are to be advised on vocational options.

The CDU wants to reorganize school funding together with the municipal umbrella associations. The first step is a stocktaking of how schools are funded today. The program argues that responsibilities need to be adjusted to growing demands.

The state and local governments pay for schools together. The CDU wants to set better rules for this. First it wants to check how things work today. It wants to do this with the associations of towns and cities.

The new arrangement is to cover staff, equipment and school buildings. The program stresses that the knowledge and decision-making authority of municipalities are especially important here. Its guiding idea is school funding from a single source.

The CDU wants to further strengthen adult education centers and independent continuing education providers. Second-chance education is to be expanded so that people can earn school diplomas later in life. Those who failed at school should thereby gain opportunities for participation and advancement.

The CDU wants to strengthen education for adults. People should be able to earn school diplomas later in life. There should be more courses in reading and writing. Older people should also get more courses.

Basic education and literacy programs, along with related research, are to be expanded. Additional continuing education offerings are planned for older people. State funding is to keep rising regularly, and digitalization in continuing education is to move forward. The investment backlog at educational facilities is to be cleared. Media and digital literacy is to be strengthened in view of fake news and conspiracy narratives.

The CDU wants to spend twice as much on cultural education and expand offerings for all age groups, from daycare to seniors. Music schools are to get more state money and thus more permanent positions.

The CDU wants to spend twice as much on cultural education. That means, for example, learning music, dance and art. There should be offers for children and adults. Music schools should get more permanent teachers.

Offerings are to be expanded for daycare centers, young adults, apprentices and older people. Cultural education is to become part of the training and continuing education of daycare staff and teachers and be anchored in adult and further education. The music school initiative is to be extended; a higher state share is meant to allow permanent positions and consistent teaching quality. The JeKits program, which introduces primary school children to instruments, dance and singing, is to be secured.

The CDU wants all children to be able to swim safely by the end of sixth grade. It points to the growing number of children and teenagers who cannot swim.

The CDU wants every child to be able to swim. This should be the case by the end of sixth grade at the latest. There should be more swimming teachers. More pools for practice are also planned.

An action plan for learning to swim is to run from 2022 to 2027. The state is to recruit and train more swimming instructors and open up additional suitable pool space. A campaign with all parties involved is meant to step up swimming instruction. The CDU also plans a swimming center that bundles offerings from beginner level to lifesaving.

The CDU wants to increase state funding for better teaching at universities. Digital teaching formats are to be combined permanently with in-person teaching, while universities are to remain in-person institutions.

The CDU wants to give more money for teaching at universities. Students should still learn on campus. Digital offers should be added. Both together are called hybrid teaching.

The funds for improving teaching quality are to rise by 50 million euros to 350 million euros. The digitization drive for digital and hybrid teaching is to continue, and a prize is planned for the best implementation concepts. The CDU also wants to support universities in creating inclusive study conditions. Together with local youth welfare offices, flexible childcare is to be set up that fits the irregular hours at universities.

The CDU declares the debate over tuition fees closed. It pledges not to reintroduce such fees in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Studying in North Rhine-Westphalia costs no tuition fees. The CDU wants it to stay that way. It does not want to bring tuition fees back.

Studying at the state's universities is to remain possible without general tuition fees. The CDU describes the discussion about them as finally over. The pledge is part of the aim of creating good conditions for students.

The CDU wants to press the federal government to reform BAföG (federal student aid) so that parents' income plays a smaller role. At the same time, better advising and targeted talent support are meant to help more young people finish their degrees.

BAföG is money from the state for students. Today it depends a lot on what the parents earn. The CDU wants to change that. It also wants to make advice for students better.

The BAföG reform is a demand directed at the federal government, which is responsible for this benefit. Within the state, the CDU plans talent scouting for high-achieving pupils from families without university degrees, support for gifted pupils at schools, and closer cooperation between schools and universities. Student advising is to cover career orientation, other training paths and demand forecasts for individual sectors as well as social and psychological support, mainly in digital form. The project "Zukunft durch Innovation" (zdi), which promotes careers in science, technology, engineering and math, is to be secured permanently.

The CDU wants to expand top-level research and its institutions so that North Rhine-Westphalia ranks among the leading science locations in Germany. A new innovation fund with an additional 100 million euros is meant to kick-start new scientific priorities.

The CDU wants to strengthen research in the state. There should be a new fund for this. A fund is a pot of money. The pot should hold 100 million euros.

Universities are to remain free to research energy security and the energy transition without being tied to particular technologies. Funding is to go, among other things, to research on future mobility, science in the Rhenish lignite region, peace and conflict research including an expansion of the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, the sustainability college "HumboldtN" and the Fraunhofer battery cell research facility. For universities of applied sciences, the plans include the doctoral college and a new research college with fellowships for professors who are strong in research. The Johannes Rau Research Association is to be strengthened, and funding that rises automatically over time is to be examined. Added to this are the Research Center Ruhr, more scholarships and new degree programs in pharmacy.

The CDU wants to continue digitizing universities and offer one uniform campus app for the whole state. It is to serve as a digital student ID and bundle services of everyday university life.

The CDU wants one app for all students in the state. The app should be the student ID. Students should be able to pay in the cafeteria with it. The ticket for buses and trains should also be in the app.

The app is to include library access, payment in the cafeteria and the semester ticket for public transit, along with functions for university staff. The body DH.NRW is to be developed into a service company for the universities. The Open University Hagen is to receive more money, share in additional quality improvement funds and be partly co-financed by the federal government. The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) is also to move to joint federal and state funding in the longer term.

The CDU wants to keep reducing the investment backlog at universities and launch a renovation program for that purpose. In addition, more affordable housing for students is to be created.

Many university buildings are old. The CDU wants to repair and renew them. It also wants to create more low-cost housing for students.

University construction and urban development are to be planned together with municipalities, using campus models that link research, teaching, housing and business. A competition is to support the building of a model campus. A special financing program called "Studentisches Wohnen" (student housing) is to support renovation, modernization and new construction by the student services organizations. Another special program is planned for equipment at university hospitals. Maker spaces, meaning open workshops for technical projects, are to be set up at more locations.