Grüne on education

The Greens want to anchor nutrition and ecology more firmly in daycare centers, schools and vocational training. A municipal garden and kitchen program is meant to introduce children to growing and cooking food, and a training drive is to make food trades more attractive. People who take discarded food out of the trash should not be punished.

Children should grow food and cook in daycare and school. There is a program for gardens and kitchens for this. Training for cooks, bakers and similar jobs should get better. Eco topics should matter more in training. People who save food from the trash get no penalty.

Ecological topics are to get more weight in curricula, vocational and continuing education and in advisory services; the framework curricula for the agricultural and horticultural trades are to be updated. The offices for food, agriculture and forestry are to become regional competence centers that support the shift in farming and food locally. The training drive for food trades and the chef profession relies on better working conditions and modern content such as health, sustainable purchasing and plant-based dishes. The platform justifies this with a lack of practical knowledge about growing food and cooking.

The Greens want to make training in the skilled trades more attractive: master craftsman courses would be free, and all schools would have two mandatory internships and trades project days from grade 7. Training content and vocational schools would be modernized.

The Greens want to strengthen the skilled trades. The course to become a master craftsman would be free. Students would do two internships from grade 7. Vocational schools would become more modern.

The platform calls the trades indispensable for the energy transition, food supply, the economy and housing construction. Training content would take in topics such as climate protection, saving resources, circular models and digitalization. Vocational schools and training centers across Bavaria would be modernized. The internships and project days apply to all types of schools.

The Greens want full-time system administrators to look after IT at every school. This is meant to professionalize the technology and give teachers more time for their core tasks.

At schools, often nobody has the steady job of looking after the computers. The Greens want to hire experts for this. They maintain the technology and help teachers. Then teachers have more time for teaching.

The positions are to be created at all schools and other educational institutions, or provided through a regional pool. The staff would manage and maintain the on-site technology and answer teachers' technical questions. The program argues that every school has a janitor but nobody whose main job is IT.

The Greens want studying in Bavaria not to depend on background or money. They reject fees, want to reduce admission restrictions, and want to give the Studierendenwerke (student services organizations) more money for dorms.

Everyone should be able to study in Bavaria, even with little money. The Greens are against fees for studying. They want more student dorms. Fewer subjects should have a grade cutoff. Students with worries should get advice more easily.

The program points to high living costs in Munich and other university cities, while the number of dorm places is not growing and many buildings need renovation. The rejection of fees explicitly includes students from abroad. Mentoring programs and earlier preparation for academic work in school are meant to lower hidden barriers to entry. Psychosocial counseling and coaching at universities are also to be expanded.

The Greens want to bring back the Verfasste Studierendenschaft (statutory student body) in Bavaria and organize universities more democratically. They reject the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act in its current form and want to revise it.

Students should have more say at their university. The Greens want to bring back an official student body for this. All other German states have one. Half of the seats on committees should go to women. The university law should change.

The statutory student body would let students manage their own affairs, as the program says is the case in every other German state. All committees are to be at least half women, which the party justifies with the share of women among students. The Greens contrast "universities of democracy" with universities dominated by their presidents. A revised Higher Education Innovation Act is meant to take the interests of all university members into account.

The Greens want to remove barriers for people with disabilities in study and research. This includes accessible buildings and digital services, direct support for students, and more influence for disability officers.

People with disabilities should be able to study more easily. University buildings and websites should be accessible. Universities get more money for this. They should also provide sign language interpreters. Disability officers should be allowed to vote on committees.

The highest construction standards for inclusion are to apply to new buildings and renovations, and digital information and services are to be accessible everywhere. Students with disabilities would get help with admission, accommodations for disadvantages, and questions about career choice and organizing their studies. Universities are to ensure that sign language interpreters are available. Disability officers are to have voting rights on decision-making bodies, and their proposals must be discussed there.

The Greens want to clear the renovation backlog at Bavaria's universities with a targeted program that takes priority over new prestige buildings. A state program for energy retrofits and renewable energy is meant to help universities reach their self-set goal of climate neutrality by 2028.

Many university buildings in Bavaria are in bad shape. The Greens want to repair them first, before costly new buildings. The universities want to be climate-neutral by 2028. A state program would provide money for this. New buildings must be climate-neutral.

The program puts the renovation needs at universities and research institutions in the billions. Universities are to have the buildings and funds to offer enough study spaces and meeting places and to be equipped for hybrid and digital learning. For necessary new buildings, the state would support building authorities and universities so that they build sustainably and climate-neutrally. Universities would also get help with maintenance, procurement and operations, through exchange of information, a state procurement law, and staff and money. The party sees universities as role models on climate protection because they make up a large share of state-owned buildings.

The Greens want to secure core funding for research and teaching in all subjects, instead of handing out more and more money only as time-limited project grants. Research policy is to become broader and focus on future challenges such as climate, energy and social cohesion.

Universities should get enough steady money for research and teaching. So far, much money only goes to single projects for a limited time. The Greens want to fund research in many fields. These include climate, energy and transport. All universities should report on their sustainability.

In the party's view, secure funding keeps universities independent of individual business interests. The program accuses the previous state government of limiting itself to a few fields such as artificial intelligence and hydrogen. Areas to be strengthened include energy and climate research, research on supply chains and substitutes for scarce raw materials, the humanities and social sciences, and peace and conflict research. Sustainability reports and strategies would become mandatory for all universities, and education for sustainable development is to be part of every subject. The plans also include more science communication, a competence center for open science, and individual modules and microdegrees for outside learners.

The Greens want to improve working conditions in research and teaching and curb chains of fixed-term contracts. They back a comprehensive reform of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (the law on fixed-term academic contracts), want to create additional permanent positions, and call for a collective agreement for student employees.

Many young researchers only have temporary contracts. The Greens want to create more permanent jobs at universities. The law on temporary contracts in academia should change. Students who work at the university should get a collective agreement. A collective agreement sets pay and working hours.

According to the program, insecure contracts drive researchers abroad or into other careers, and knowledge is lost as a result. Ongoing tasks are therefore to be done by permanent staff again; this concerns research associates, adjunct lecturers and Privatdozenten (unsalaried senior lecturers). Further career paths besides the professorship are to be created, for example in science management, science communication and knowledge transfer. Positions are to be advertised as full-time more often. Student employees are also to get a staff council, and staff who support academic work are to be placed fairly on the pay scale.

The Greens want to strengthen social work at all Bavarian schools and introduce teams drawn from different professions there. Child and youth services would get more university places, paid practical semesters, a digital pact and better funding for independent providers. The aim is for every child to receive the support needed for their development.

The Greens want more help for children at schools. Every school should have social work. Experts from different jobs would work together there. Youth services should also get more money and more trained staff.

The planned teams would include, for example, childcare workers, social education workers and psychotherapists; mentoring programs would be strengthened. Teachers would be trained to deal sensitively with poverty, and counseling services would be expanded and better linked. More places would be created in social work and social pedagogy degrees, and payment for the practical semester would become mandatory. Inclusive youth services would advance through training and accessibility. In state tenders, volunteer work, assets in kind and administrative services would in future count toward providers' own contribution, not just cash.

The Greens want early language support for children who do not speak German at home and want to keep existing programs for this. At the same time, heritage languages would be promoted and accepted at secondary schools in place of the second foreign language.

Some children do not speak German at home. They should get early help learning German. The Greens also want to support the family's language. That language could replace the second foreign language at school.

The state program "Sprach-Kitas" (language daycare centers) and the transitional "Deutsch 240" German courses would be kept. A concept for promoting heritage-language skills at all ages is planned and would be rolled out step by step. Language assistants at every school would support integration. Bridge classes for newly arrived children would become a permanent, flexible offering at all types of schools.

The Greens want to equip every school with enough teaching, special-education and psychology staff. Step by step, a second educator would work in each classroom, starting in elementary schools and Mittelschulen (lower secondary schools).

All children should get the help they need at school. Schools should have more specialists. Bit by bit, a second educator should work in each class. This starts in elementary and lower secondary schools.

Teams drawn from different professions would support children in their various life situations and act against bullying. Cross-subject, project-based and individual learning would get more room. Teachers would learn the basics of inclusion in training and continuing education, and school aides would be trained as inclusion assistants. Schools doing inclusive work would receive money and extra positions. A social index would take local conditions into account when schools are funded and equipped.

The Greens want to scrap the binding grade averages that decide which secondary school a child may attend; parents would decide after counseling. They also want to allow longer joint schooling and alternatives to numerical grades.

Today, grades in fourth grade decide a child's next school. The Greens want to end that. Parents should decide after getting advice. Children should be able to learn together for longer. Schools should be allowed to drop number grades.

The platform sees grade pressure starting as early as third grade and wants to reduce it in fourth grade. To that end, the Bavarian education act (BayEUG) and school regulations would be amended, also so that one school can offer different diplomas. An opt-in clause would let municipalities set up schools that combine several tracks when the local school community wants it. Unannounced tests would be dropped in favor of individual feedback. Fewer tests are meant to give teachers time for extra support.

The Greens want to offer high-quality all-day schooling to all pupils, not only in elementary school. Regional, organic school meals would be made affordable for every family through subsidies.

The Greens want all-day programs for all pupils. This should include older children too. School meals should be healthy and come from the region. The state should help pay so everyone can afford them.

The platform sees the legal entitlement to all-day care in elementary schools from 2026 as a way to reduce the influence of social background on success at school. Coordinator positions would be funded in municipalities. Quality standards would apply to all-day schooling, and implementation would be evaluated by researchers. Physical activity, crafts, art, music and theater would be a fixed part of it, supported by partnerships with music schools, theaters and clubs.

The Greens want to provide every schoolchild in Bavaria with a digital device and keep it up to date. Media literacy and computer science would carry more weight in class so young people can assess information and recognize disinformation.

Every child in Bavaria should get a digital device for school. The devices should always be up to date. Children should learn to tell news from opinion. They should also learn more computer science.

Teachers would have support from a system administrator at all times. Media literacy would be covered in several subjects; pupils would learn to judge sources and how credible they are. Computer science classes would be strengthened for everyone. Educators would be trained and offered continuing education in media pedagogy and media-based teaching.

The Greens want to require class councils and school parliaments at all schools and give them decision-making powers and a budget of their own. Civic education and history would be expanded in every grade, and ethics as a subject would be upgraded.

Pupils should help decide things at their school. Every school should have class councils and a school parliament. These get their own money. Teachers and parents should also have more say. There should be more lessons about politics.

The teachers' conference would take part in important decisions of school management, and parents would be involved through the school forum and in all-day programs. Pilot projects for democratic schools, which the platform says Bavaria has blocked so far, would be allowed. School projects would address hostility toward queer people, racism and other discrimination. Curricula would be revised. A shared teaching module would link religion and ethics classes.

The Greens want to counter the teacher shortage by paying elementary and Mittelschule teachers at the A13 salary grade and raising pay for trainee teachers. Teacher training would move to a bachelor's-master's system.

Bavaria does not have enough teachers. So the Greens want to pay more at elementary and lower secondary schools. Training should change too. Everyone learns together first and picks a school type later. Office staff should take work off teachers.

Subject and remedial teachers would eventually move up one salary grade. Teachers employed on contracts would get contracts covering the whole calendar year, including vacations, and the pool of substitute teachers would grow. Internships in at least two types of schools would be mandatory during the bachelor's phase, with specialization following in the master's. Career changers would get closer support. Principals would get dedicated training and more responsibility for staff and budgets.

The Greens want to guarantee all young people in Bavaria a vocational training place. A statewide matching program would connect companies and applicants. Anyone still left without a place would get a binding offer at a training center run outside individual companies.

Every young person in Bavaria should get a training place. A program should bring companies and applicants together. Anyone who finds no place gets a firm offer. The training then takes place at a special training center. It ends with a recognized job qualification.

The guarantee would be delivered through a statewide program that links training companies with applicants, which also helps businesses find apprentices. Young people who, against their wishes, have no place at the start of the training year would receive binding offers. That training would be closely tied to real workplaces, take place in cross-company facilities and lead to a recognized vocational qualification.

The Greens want to make it easier for people with disabilities to attend local daycare centers, mainstream schools, vocational training, continuing education and university. Every type of school would have special-needs expertise, and switching between special schools and mainstream schools would be possible in every grade.

Children with and without disabilities should be able to learn together. The Greens want to make this easier in daycare, school and college. Mixed daycare groups should be smaller and have more staff. Every kind of school should have special-needs experts. Children should be able to change schools in any grade.

The rules for building daycare centers and schools would be changed so that new and renovated buildings include space for educational and therapeutic support. Inclusive daycare groups would be smaller, with more staff and further training. Mobile special-education and therapeutic services and early-intervention centers would be expanded, and enough teachers and specialists provided. Parents keep their free choice between special schools and mainstream schools. Language assistants would support children whose first language is not German, and digital tools would help people with hearing or visual impairments, among others.

The Greens want to amend the school funding law so that lunch at Bavarian schools is subsidized by the state and free of charge for families. This is meant to bring uniform standards and organic quotas and to give local organic farms new customers.

The Greens want good lunches at all schools. The state should pay toward them. Families should not pay a fee. There should also be organic food and plant-based food. This also helps organic farmers in Bavaria.

The basis is a change to Bavaria's school funding law. The state subsidy is meant to allow the same quality standards everywhere and a fixed share of organic food. All children are to get good food. The platform also sees this as a market for the growing number of Bavarian organic farms. Plant-based dishes are part of the offer.

The Greens want to give daycare centers and schools more staff and money to support children with differing starting points in a more targeted way, especially with language. At the same time, democracy education and anti-discrimination work would be expanded and more teachers with an immigrant background hired.

Children should be able to learn German better in daycare and school. There should be more staff and more money for this. Parents should get advice in several languages. Schools should do more against racism. More teachers should have an immigrant background themselves.

Language support would be based on children's everyday lives, prepare them for elementary school and continue during school. A multilingual outreach advisory service for parents is planned at schools. Content critical of racism would be added to curricula and textbooks, and teaching staff would be trained to recognize discrimination. Projects such as "Schule ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage" (School without Racism – School with Courage) would grow, and vocational integration classes would be revised and strengthened. People who want to stay in Bavaria after training or college would get information and job application coaching.