Freie Wähler on education

The Free Voters want to put vocational and academic education on an equal legal footing and make first-time training free of charge as a rule. A continuing education drive is meant to counter the shortage of skilled workers.

The Free Voters say an apprenticeship is worth as much as a university degree. They want this written into law. A person's first training should cost nothing. Adults should also get more help to keep learning.

The platform calls the dual training system a proven model. Vocational programs should also be available in rural areas, and training centers and inter-company apprentice instruction should be adequately funded. Continuing education would be supported for workers of all ages, especially in digitalization and new technologies. Barriers to adult education are to be lowered through information and learning formats such as distance learning.

The Free Voters want to support children individually but reject lowering performance requirements. Education is to remain a matter for the states, with the federal government helping, including financially. Every child should have the same opportunities regardless of background, and the school system should allow students to move up.

The Free Voters want to support every child well. But school standards should not go down. The states should stay in charge of schools. The federal government should help them with money. All children should have the same chances.

According to the platform, lower standards harm both the individual student and Germany as a place to do business. The highest degrees should be reachable from any starting point, in single-track school systems like Berlin's as well as in multi-track systems like Bavaria's. Schools are to get more freedom to shape teaching and organization within a set framework. Schools and kindergartens close to home are to be kept, especially in rural areas. Career guidance, lifelong learning, and education research are also to be supported.

The Free Voters want to tackle staff shortages in daycare centers and schools. Recruitment programs, paid and better-paid training, and more attractive working conditions for teachers are meant to help. Training and university studies are to be tied more closely to practice.

Daycare centers and schools lack trained staff. The Free Voters want to win more people for these jobs. All training should be paid. Teachers should have less paperwork. Students should get practical experience early.

For daycare, the platform plans recruitment programs, updated curricula, and higher pay during training; no training should be unpaid. Teaching is to become more attractive through better working conditions, less bureaucracy, and a better public image. Early and regular practical phases are meant to keep future educators from dropping out when they enter the job. Teacher education at universities is to become more practice-oriented, and continuing education is to be expanded.

The Free Voters want closer support for children with a harder start. The platform provides for education guides, early language support for children from immigrant families, programs to close learning gaps from the COVID period, and social work at all schools. Special-needs schools and daycare centers are to be kept and expanded.

Some children have a harder time at school. The Free Voters want to help them more. Education guides should support children and parents. Children from immigrant families should learn German early. All schools should have social workers.

Education guides are to act as a link between school, parents, and society; the learning mentor model, in which retirees for example support children, is to be rolled out everywhere. Language support is to start in early childhood because the platform sees language as the key to integration. To close pandemic learning gaps, tutoring, vacation camps, and extra staff are planned. School social work and school health care are to be available nationwide, with interdisciplinary teams. Topics such as nutrition, exercise, swimming, and social skills are to get more room in daycare and school.

The Free Voters want to use artificial intelligence in the classroom and upgrade schools both physically and digitally. At the same time, curricula are to teach media literacy and critical thinking, since the party views the digital world's influence on young people with concern.

The Free Voters want to use AI in class. AI means artificial intelligence, computer programs that learn. Schools should get better buildings and technology. Students should learn to check information. They should use digital media responsibly.

AI learning platforms are meant to support students individually and relieve teachers so they can focus on teaching; the platforms are to be available nationwide. Real-time translation is meant to help students whose first language is not German. School infrastructure is to be thoroughly modernized, covering both digital equipment and building renovation. The effects of digital media on personality and behavior are to be researched so that negative trends can be countered.

The Free Voters support expanding all-day schools but want to review the timeline for the legal entitlement to all-day care in elementary school. The platform cites the strained finances of many municipalities as the reason.

From August 2026, elementary school children gradually get a right to all-day care. The Free Voters like all-day schools. But many cities and towns have little money. So the party wants to check the timeline again.

The legal entitlement takes effect step by step from August 2026. According to the platform, all-day schools add support programs, sports, and cultural activities to regular teaching. The funding guideline for investment in all-day expansion is to be made as flexible as possible to ease the burden on municipalities. Because of the budget situation in many cities and towns, the implementation deadlines are to be reviewed.

The Free Voters want BAföG (federal student aid) to be paid regardless of parents' income and want to simplify the application. The scholarship system is also to be opened to more students. The aim is for all students to get the financial support they need.

BAföG is money from the state for students. Today it depends on what the parents earn. The Free Voters want to change that. Applying should be easier. More students should be able to get a scholarship.

The application effort is to be reduced, which according to the platform also relieves the offices that process the applications. Regional differences between places of study are to be taken into account when setting the amount of aid. Scholarships are to reach talented and committed students regardless of their financial situation. Universities are to offer very good conditions in teaching and equipment, and part-time and dual study programs as well as the Erasmus program are to receive continued support.

The Free Voters want more reliable career paths for academics below the rank of professor. The platform criticizes that most of them are on fixed-term contracts and sees this as harmful to Germany as a research location.

Many researchers at universities only have temporary contracts. The Free Voters want to change that. Researchers should be able to plan their careers better. The party says insecure jobs hurt research in Germany.

According to the platform, more than 90 percent of non-professorial academics under 45 are on fixed-term contracts, and fewer than a third of postdocs can expect a permanent position. It says the special fixed-term rules of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (the law on fixed-term academic contracts) allow employers to replace staff regularly. Many have to leave academia in mid-life. The party sees research and development as essential for the economy and for training skilled workers.

The Free Voters want to introduce so-called Bildungsjoker. These are vouchers that parents can use to pay for tutoring, music and sports classes or other educational offerings for their children. The goal is more equal opportunity regardless of social background.

The Free Voters want to introduce an education voucher. Parents get this voucher. They can use it to pay for tutoring, for example. Music and sports classes are also possible. This should give all children the same chances.

Parents are to use the vouchers specifically to support their children's development. The platform lists tutoring, music and sports classes and further educational offerings as possible uses. The party wants to support each child's individual development and offset differences caused by family background.

The Free Voters call for more and regular physical education that must not be the first thing canceled when staff are short. Schools would cooperate with sports clubs and get suitable rooms.

Schools should offer more PE classes. Classes should not be canceled so often. This also goes for swimming. Schools should work together with sports clubs.

PE and swimming lessons would be mandatory and take place reliably. Partnerships with clubs would strengthen what schools offer quickly and with little paperwork. The federal and state governments would build and convert school buildings to create spaces for exercise as well as for rest. The program also calls for early talent development programs and projects that teach team spirit, fairness and respect. Nature-based sports such as hiking, running or cycling would get support.