Grüne on education

The Greens want to establish education for sustainable development firmly across all areas of education, from daycare to senior universities. More people are to gain knowledge about protecting the environment, nature and the climate.

The Greens want everyone to learn more about nature and the climate. The topic should be part of daycare, schools and universities. Older people should be able to learn about it too. A statewide network is planned for this.

The state is to set a framework that education providers fill with their own teaching concepts. The topic is to become a central pillar in regional education networks, including in teacher training. Partnerships outside schools are to be supported. The existing regional centers are to grow into a statewide network with more projects and partners.

The Greens want to work with guilds and chambers to attract more people to the skilled trades. The drive covers stronger dual vocational training, new target groups, better paths for advancement and easier access for skilled workers from abroad. The background is that many master craftspeople and journeymen will soon retire.

The skilled trades need more young people. The Greens want to improve training. Apprentices should pay less for buses and trains and get dorms. The state should pay for master craftsman training like a university degree. Tradespeople from abroad should find it easier to work here.

Dual vocational training is to include more hands-on practice outside the company and content on climate protection, digitalization and automation; vocational schools and universities are to cooperate more closely. For apprentices, the plan includes funded dorms, a cheaper apprentice transit pass on par with the student pass and more stays abroad. More women are to enter technical trades, as are people with disabilities or an immigrant background. Master craftsman training is to be financed like a university degree, with more scholarships and transfers between trades and universities. For tradespeople from abroad, labor market access, recognition of qualifications and training are to be improved.

The Greens want to tackle the shortage of skilled workers with a broad training drive. Fees for vocational training and the master craftsman certificate are to be lowered first and then phased out. Barriers for groups that have been hard to reach are to be removed, with a special focus on asylum seekers.

Many jobs lack skilled workers. The Greens want to train more people. Vocational training and the master certificate should step by step become free. Asylum seekers should be able to start training early. Degrees from abroad should be accepted more easily.

Dual vocational training and the master craftsman certificate are to be strengthened. Training centers outside companies and in schools for industry, trades and social professions are to get more money, and inter-company training centers more staff and equipment. Universities and vocational colleges are to work together more closely, and statewide training institutes are to enable learning with current technology. Barriers for women, older people, young people, people with disabilities or an immigrant background are to fall. Asylum seekers are to enter suitable training occupations early, and foreign qualifications are to be recognized more easily.

The Greens want to offer every child from age one a good place in a Kita (daycare center) or with a childminder. To do so, capacity would be expanded and staffing needs recalculated according to scientific standards.

Every child from age one should get a good daycare place. The Greens want to create more places. They want to set new rules on how many children one staff member looks after. Extra workers should help with office work and the kitchen.

The number of children per staff member and the time for management and training would be reset based on scientific standards. Vacation, sick leave and training would be factored into staffing calculations. The state would fund administrative posts and housekeeping staff in daycare centers. Educators and providers would be consulted on working conditions and quality. Childminding services and their advisory offices would also be expanded according to need.

The Greens want lunch in daycare centers and childminding to be free of charge and want to improve the quality of early childhood education. Centers in disadvantaged neighborhoods would get extra support so that educational opportunities are fairer from the start.

Lunch at daycare should no longer cost parents anything. Daycare centers in poorer areas should get more help. Children should have a say at daycare. The Greens also want more support for language, exercise and healthy food.

The so-called plusKitas (daycare centers with extra funding in disadvantaged areas) would be expanded as needed and given additional hours for daycare social work. Language mediators, speech therapists and other therapists would be brought into daycare teams with little red tape, and multilingualism would be encouraged. Local networks of public health services, doctors, health insurers and sports clubs would deliver health education. Centers would get help with participation schemes for children, and cultural education should be accessible regardless of parents' income.

The Greens want to recruit considerably more early childhood educators by expanding training and university places and opening new routes into the profession. Working conditions and pay should reflect the responsibility the job carries.

Daycare centers lack trained staff. The Greens want to train more people for the job. People from other jobs should be able to switch to daycare work more easily. More men should become educators. Centers that train people should get more money.

Practice-integrated training (PiA) would be expanded and offered part-time as well. University places in education science should match demand, and centers that train staff would receive more funding. Foreign qualifications should be recognized in a workable way, and career changes made simpler while keeping quality high. A program for boys would introduce them to social professions during career orientation and internships. The everyday-helper program from the COVID period would continue for now, with helpers offered further training so they can stay.

The Greens want to help cities and towns renovate and modernize their school buildings. The state would not only provide loans but also help repay them. Cooperation between the federal government and the states in education would also be used for investment and additional staff.

Many school buildings need repairs. The Greens want to help cities and towns with this. The state should also help pay back the loans. The federal government and the state should work together more on schools.

The platform cites the "Gute Schule 2020" program as the model for helping with loan repayment. Federal-state cooperation is meant to produce investment programs for renovation and new buildings at difficult locations, plus more staff for all-day schooling, inclusion and social work. The Greens want to renegotiate with the municipal associations who steers school planning and who pays for schools. Federal funds, school budgets and school social worker positions would be distributed by social criteria. The party would back a federal constitutional amendment for closer cooperation in education.

The Greens want to give schools more leeway in how they teach. This includes project-based learning, alternatives to grades and more say over staffing. The stated reason is that schools know best what their students need.

Schools should be able to decide more on their own. For example, they could teach more through projects. They could also use other ways of rating work than grades. The Greens say schools know what their children need.

The plan includes cross-subject project learning, alternatives to the usual grading system and feedback that also comes from students. Schools would get more say over staffing, more resources and a funding program for school development. Models such as the "Primusschulen" would be written into the school law. The party wants to give special support to elementary schools. For children born between July 1 and September 30, parents would decide when they start school.

The Greens want digital learning to become routine at every school in North Rhine-Westphalia. All students and teachers would receive mobile devices. A five-year training drive would prepare school staff for new media.

All students and teachers should get a mobile device, such as a tablet. Learning with digital media should be normal everywhere. Teachers should get training for this. The training should run for five years.

The platform calls computer science skills the basis for taking part in a digital society and wants everyone to have access to the basics. Media literacy would get special support. The supply of devices would be secured for the long term. The training drive is aimed at everyone who works in schools. Money from the Digitalpakt (federal digital schools fund) would be paid out faster, and the Greens want to implement the planned Digitalpakt 2.0 quickly together with the municipalities.

The Greens want schools to put more weight on politics, social science and society. They would add priorities in education for sustainable development and anti-discrimination. In the platform's view, schools should strengthen democracy and help protect the environment and climate.

School should deal more with politics and society. Children should also learn more about the environment and sustainability. The Greens want this to strengthen democracy. They also want to support languages and student exchanges.

The party backs the "SoWi bleibt" initiative (keep social science as a subject) for schools and universities. Learning places and programs outside school would be used more often. Short and long exchange visits would be supported in all types of school, with help for teachers. Multilingualism and language learning would be strengthened, and student and parent representation would be established at the municipal level. Funding programs would help schools and school operators make school meals healthier and more sustainable.

The Greens want to tackle the teacher shortage with a reform of teacher training, more routes to qualification and additional professions in schools. All teaching tracks would start at pay grade A13. Teachers would have less administrative work so that more time is left for teaching.

Many schools do not have enough teachers. The Greens want to change how teachers are trained. Other experts should also work in schools, such as social workers. All teachers should earn the same starting pay.

Teacher training at university would become more practical and include dual work-study elements. Multi-professional teams would include school social workers, school psychologists, IT specialists, administrative staff and career changers, among others. Barriers for career changers and for recognizing foreign qualifications would be removed, and the party wants to recruit people with refugee backgrounds to work in schools. For schools in difficult areas, the plan uses pay and career incentives and reduced teaching loads. Teachers' working hours would be reassessed together with their associations. A13 would apply not only to newly trained teachers.

The Greens want to create 200,000 additional all-day school places and double funding per place to 4,000 euros. This is meant to prepare North Rhine-Westphalia for the legal entitlement in elementary school that takes effect in 2026. Binding quality standards for all-day schooling would also be set.

There are too few all-day places at elementary schools in the state. The Greens want to create 200,000 new places. Each place should get twice as much money as now. From 2026, children have a right to a place.

According to the platform, just under half of elementary school children in the state currently have an all-day place. The party says quality has so far depended on a municipality's finances and on local conditions. Schools would work in multi-professional teams, and jobs in all-day schooling would be made more attractive. Compulsory all-day schooling at elementary and secondary schools would also grow. The expansion would run through an incentive program backed by the state.

The Greens state the goal of making education free of fees for everyone. As an interim step, uniform statewide parent fees graded by income would apply to daycare centers, family daycare and open all-day schools, with an exemption for low earners. Free learning materials would also cover digital materials.

Education should later be free for everyone. First, parent fees should follow the same rules across the state. People who earn little should pay nothing. Digital learning materials should also be free.

The platform argues that success in education still depends on parents' income and background. It points to costs for learning materials, fees, devices, trips and lunches, which weigh most heavily on families with low incomes. The uniform fee tables would grade fees by social criteria. The party describes this as a system change toward early support.

The Greens want to allocate money and positions for schools according to need. A social index for each individual school would determine where additional teachers, social workers and funds go. Schools in difficult locations would receive more as a result.

Not all schools should get the same amount of money. Schools with many problems should get more. A social index should show this. It is a number that describes each school's situation.

The party states the principle that unequal situations should be treated unequally. The social index is meant to be sound, transparent and specific to each school. It would guide the distribution of extra teachers, more social workers, other positions and additional money. Federal investment funds and school budgets for disadvantaged neighborhoods would also follow social criteria.

The Greens see inclusion as a human right and a task for every type of school, guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Moving students down to a lower school type and making them repeat a grade against their will would end. Schools would get more staff, money and barrier-free spaces for this.

Children with and without disabilities should learn together. This should be possible at all schools. No child should have to repeat a grade against their will. Schools should get more staff and money for this.

The plan includes permanent multi-professional teams, special education teachers, training and inclusion coordinators in school leadership. There would be statewide building standards for accessibility, paid for by the state. As an interim step, pioneer schools would get special resources and be linked to regional support centers offering school psychology, youth services and counseling. The decree on reading and spelling difficulties would be revised, and a decree on dyscalculia (difficulty with math) would be drawn up for the first time.

The Greens want to guarantee every young person vocational training leading to a full qualification. A fund paid into by all companies would spread the cost of training. Training places outside companies would be expanded.

Every young person should be able to do vocational training. The Greens want to guarantee this. All companies should pay into a shared fund. That way, companies without trainees also carry part of the cost.

The party wants to examine how companies that do not yet train can be made to share in training skilled workers. Career guidance would take place in all types of school, and programs such as "Kein Abschluss ohne Anschluss" and career-entry support would continue. Joint training by several companies would be supported so that small and mid-sized firms also train. Training with reduced theory content is planned for young people with disabilities. Digitalization and climate protection would become part of cross-company training content, and an information campaign on Erasmus+ is planned.

The Greens want to make it easier for trainees to move for their training. Shared dorms for learners would be built, and public transit passes for trainees would be put on par with those for university students. Trainees with insecure residence status would be protected from deportation.

Trainees should find it easier to move to another city. There should be dorms for trainees and students. The trainee transit pass should be as good as the student pass. Trainees without a secure right to stay should not be deported.

The dorms would be open to trainees, university students and people taking language courses. Training would become more flexible; part-time models would let young parents or people with health limits earn a qualification. Together with companies, the party wants to help disadvantaged young people find and keep a training place. Protection from deportation is meant to give training companies certainty. Trainee pay and pay after training should rise markedly, with the state leading the way for its own employees.

The Greens want everyone to be able to catch up on a school diploma or vocational training. Second-chance education would be strengthened, vocational colleges developed into regional centers, and continuing education permanently funded with rising budgets. For the skilled trades, a reform of master craftsman training and start-up bonuses are planned.

Adults should be able to get a school diploma later in life. There should be more courses for this, for example at adult education centers. Continuing education should get more money for the long term. It should be easier for tradespeople to become master craftsmen.

According to the platform, one in five school leavers in the state stays without any vocational qualification; a state program would offer advice and guidance. Funding for nonprofit continuing education would grow automatically and include adequate fees for course instructors. Vocational colleges would stay under state responsibility. The German Qualifications Framework, which ranks a master craftsman equal to a bachelor's degree, would be given legal force. Also planned are more dual study programs, scholarships, training for career changers into fields such as family daycare, and easy-access courses on digital government services, especially for older people.

The Greens want to support first-year students in financial need with up to 1,000 euros. The Studierendenwerke (student services organizations) would get higher subsidies, including for building and renovating housing. In the party's view, the state is responsible for ensuring that university study does not fail because of financial or social barriers.

Students with little money should get up to 1,000 euros at the start. There should be more housing for students. The student services organizations should get more money for this. Semester fees should be affordable.

The platform describes studying as a full-time activity without income that many must combine with a disability, chronic illness or care work. It therefore calls for flexible study models as well as money. Semester fees are to become affordable for students. Higher subsidies to the Studierendenwerke are meant to create more housing and improve social infrastructure at universities.

The Greens want to remove barriers to higher education so that everyone can study regardless of money, disability or life situation. Among other things, the state would cover the cost of materials for financially disadvantaged students and expand part-time degree programs.

The Greens want everyone to be able to study. Students with little money should get required study materials paid for. There should be more part-time degree programs. Students with disabilities should get more help.

The state would pay for strictly required study materials for financially disadvantaged students and reliably support the NRW-Zentrum für Talentförderung (NRW talent promotion center). Officers for students with disabilities or chronic illness would be strengthened, and inclusion would be treated as a task across all parts of the university. Psychological counseling at universities and student services would be expanded, as would diversity management programs. More students should be able to take part in Erasmus+ and other exchange programs. Admission requirements for bachelor's and master's programs should be communicated more transparently.

The Greens want to improve university teaching and make it more inclusive. Attendance requirements would be dropped, the student-to-staff ratio would improve markedly, and the academic senate would gain weight relative to the university council and rectorate.

The Greens want better teaching at universities. Students should no longer be required to attend classes. There should be more teachers per student. The university senate should have more say.

The ratio of teaching staff to students is to improve substantially. Accessible teaching would be supported, for example through induction loop systems and suitable equipment, and accommodations for disadvantaged students would become more student-friendly. Besides ending mandatory attendance, the party advocates scrapping final-attempt rules for exams to reduce stress. In the senate, equal representation of the four university groups would again be the norm where legally possible. A Studium Generale would encourage exchange across disciplines, and the practical year in medical studies would be made fairer. Part-time and work-compatible study places are also planned, for instance for teachers in nursing training.

The Greens want to improve working conditions at universities, which they see as a precondition for good teaching and research. The core elements are permanent posts for permanent tasks, reliable qualification paths and stronger co-determination.

The Greens want better jobs at universities. People doing ongoing work should get permanent jobs. Careers in science should be easier to plan. Staff and students should have more say.

Using state and federal money, binding rules and local agreements, contracts would cover the full doctoral or habilitation period, and there would be career paths besides a professorship and options to return. Student assistants would get their own collective agreement and a staff representation body anchored in law. More research staff posts and junior professorships with a guaranteed permanent chair after probation are planned. Women would be supported through mentoring and scholarships, and appointment committees would be filled by quota. A volunteer student member of the rectorate and public transit job tickets for staff are also part of the plan.

The Greens want to fund research from North Rhine-Westphalia better, arguing that it provides answers on social problems, conflicts and climate protection. The focus is on the institutes of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft and on universities of applied sciences.

The Greens want to spend more money on research in NRW. Universities of applied sciences should be able to do more research. Professors there should have to teach less. There should also be more jobs.

The institutes of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (a state research association) would receive more money. Universities of applied sciences would get lower teaching loads, additional professorships and research staff, plus reliable funding for the Promotionskolleg NRW (doctoral college). Support is also planned for gender research, alternatives to animal testing, the circular economy, forest ecology and aging research; pluralist economics should get more attention. The humanities, cultural studies and social sciences would be supported long-term and integrated into interdisciplinary projects.

The Greens want to put the civil clause back into law so that publicly funded research stays transparent and serves peaceful purposes. Peace and conflict research would receive permanent funding.

The Greens want to bring back the civil clause. This is a rule: research paid for with public money should serve peace. Research on peace and conflict should get lasting funding.

Peace and conflict research, including its scientific and technical branches, would get adequate permanent funding and a statewide network. The civil clause would again apply by law. For cooperation with partners in authoritarian states, the platform requires that it be based on liberal values. Research and teaching should not be restricted by outside influence.

The Greens want students to be free from the start to choose whether to attend denominational religious education. Practical philosophy is to be offered everywhere as an alternative, and Islamic religious education is supported.

Children should be free to choose from first grade on. They should be able to take religion or practical philosophy. The Greens also support Islamic religion classes. Teachers for these classes should study in NRW. Later, the religions should teach together.

Obstacles to converting denominational schools into non-denominational elementary schools are to be reduced. Islamic religious education is to be based on the constitution, with teachers who receive their academic training in NRW. Liberal Muslim voices are to be strengthened in the responsible commission, and associations steered from abroad are to have no place there. In the medium term, religious education is to become a cooperative, cross-denominational subject, developed in dialogue with the religious communities and including Islamic instruction.