Linke on education

The Left wants to provide considerably more money for civic education. Every young person should be able to visit a memorial site of the Nazi dictatorship at least once during their school years. The program justifies this in part by the growing importance of dealing with right-wing extremism and antisemitism.

The Left wants to spend more money on civic education. There, people learn how democracy works. Every young person should be able to visit a memorial site once. A memorial site reminds people of the crimes of the Nazi era. There should be more programs in rural areas and online.

The extra money is to go to the state agency for civic education, the democratic political foundations at the state level and independent providers. A visit to a Nazi-era memorial site should be possible before the end of general schooling. A new educational leave law is meant to enable and support participation in civic education programs. Rural areas are to get their own programs, and online formats are meant to reach more young people. The program also names climate change, wars, artificial intelligence and structural change as topics.

The Left wants teams made up of different professions in all daycare centers and schools. They are meant to support children and families early on and make joint teaching of children with and without special needs possible.

The Left wants teams from many professions in daycare centers and schools. These include teachers, childcare workers, social workers and psychologists. The teams should support children and families early. This way all children can learn together.

The teams are to bring together childcare workers, teachers, educational staff and specialists in social work, psychology, special education and language support. The existing concept for such teams is to be developed further. The state is to provide the money and staff needed to carry it out. The professionals are to receive regular training so that cooperation works. The program ties this to its call for lasting investment in education instead of cuts.

The Left wants to anchor and expand social work in daycare centers and schools permanently by law. Instead of time-limited projects paid from EU funds, a state program is to carry the financing.

The Left wants social work in daycare centers and schools to be permanent. So far there are only projects for a limited time. In the future the state should pay for it for good. There should be one social work job for every 150 students.

From the 2028/29 school year, one school social work position per 150 students is to be mandatory, which the program says amounts to about 1,200 full-time jobs. The current time-limited phases from European Social Fund (ESF) programs are to be replaced by a permanent state program. The work is to continue in cooperation with independent youth welfare providers and be coordinated by the existing network offices. Daycare centers and schools are also to work together more closely, for example through case conferences and structured handovers.

The Left wants to give all children and young people fast internet and digital devices in daycare and school. They are to learn to use media, algorithms and artificial intelligence critically and independently.

The Left wants fast internet in daycare centers and schools. All children should be able to use digital devices there. They should learn how media and computer programs work. Artificial intelligence should help with learning but not replace thinking for yourself.

Child protection and a mindful approach to digital media are to rank high without denying children access; the program cites the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A competent approach to data protection, personal rights and one's own health is to be promoted. Freely available teaching materials (open educational resources) are to receive targeted support, also to save public money. Artificial intelligence is to be used in class in a way that supports learning rather than serving merely as a quick aid.

The Left wants all children with and without disabilities to be able to learn together in regular schools. Truancy is no longer to be punished with fines or youth detention, and grades for behavior are to be dropped.

The Left wants all children to learn together in regular schools. There should be more trained staff for this. Students who skip school should not get fines or detention. They should get help instead. The Left wants to end grades for behavior.

The program calls inclusion a human right. Support is to improve through smaller classes, teams, adapted learning materials and considerably more trained educators. Paths to a school-leaving certificate are to be widened, for example through “Produktives Lernen” (productive learning) and Werk-statt-Schule offerings. For students who stay away from school, social-pedagogical support, individual support plans and alternative places of learning are to replace sanctions. Conduct grades (“Kopfnoten”) are to be replaced by individual feedback.

The Left wants longer joint learning and to make the Gemeinschaftsschule (comprehensive community school) the second pillar next to the Gymnasium. This includes ten years of compulsory full-time schooling and an end to school-track recommendations.

The Left wants children to learn together for longer. Later there should be only community schools and Gymnasium schools. This should happen voluntarily. Everyone should go to school for 10 years. Parents get advice but no longer a recommendation for a school type.

Community schools are to be able to award the Fachhochschulreife (entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences) and set up an upper vocational level together with vocational schools. Switching school types is to be possible at the start of each school year. Several community and comprehensive schools are to be allowed to form joint upper-secondary centers; the minimum size of an upper-secondary year group is to drop back to 50. In addition, all-day offerings are to grow, inclusive regular schools and community and comprehensive schools are to get more support, and practical vocational lessons are to be introduced at all lower secondary schools.

The Left wants to make vocational training more attractive: all training programs are to be free of charge, and necessary technology such as laptops or software is to be provided. Vocational schools are to be modernized through a state program.

The Left wants to improve vocational training. Every training program should be free. Trainees should get laptops and software at no cost. The state should help with travel and housing costs. Trainees should get a few days off before exams.

Travel and accommodation costs for attending vocational school are to be eased through state money and a contribution from employers. Specialized classes spanning regions and state borders are to be reviewed to avoid very long trips to school. A state program is to modernize workshops, labs and IT at vocational schools. Trainees are to receive self-study materials and several days of leave before final exams without any disadvantage. More guidance is planned where training is at risk, along with bridging programs and assisted training; unions are to be allowed to inform students at vocational schools about workers' rights.

The Left wants after-school care centers (Horte) to be governed by the school law again while keeping the variety of providers. All-day offerings are to grow as needed at all general secondary schools.

The Left wants after-school care centers back in the school law. These centers look after primary school children after class. The different providers should stay. Secondary schools should also get more all-day offerings.

The after-school centers are to carry all-day education and care for primary school children. To expand all-day schooling at secondary schools, the Left wants to provide the necessary staff and money. All-day schooling is also meant to allow systematic support for especially gifted students.

The Left wants to abolish minimum enrollment numbers for first-year classes at public schools so that locations are not closed because of fluctuating numbers. A state school construction program and higher transfers to municipalities are to make building and renovation possible.

The Left wants to protect schools from closing. There should no longer be a minimum number of students for new classes. School authorities should decide on locations themselves. The state should help with building and renovating schools.

Minimum year-group sizes are to be replaced by lump-sum staff allocations; school authorities are to decide themselves on keeping and founding locations. According to the program, more than half of the state's public schools have been closed. Binding standards are to apply to new construction and conversions, treating space as a “third educator” and enabling inclusion and independent learning. Ongoing investment in accessibility and a binding say for teachers, students and parents in building projects are planned. Existing independent schools are to get fair conditions for development.

The Left wants to give students more of a say and allow schools to make more of their own decisions. In the program's view, schools should be places where democracy is practiced.

The Left wants students to have more say at school. Schools should be allowed to decide more on their own. This covers money, organization and teaching. Schools should get their own budget.

At secondary schools, the general school conference could be made up in equal thirds of three groups. These conferences are to receive additional decision-making powers. Schools are to decide more for themselves on organizational, financial and educational matters. School authorities are to hand over as large a share of the school budget as possible for schools to manage on their own.

The Left wants to address the teacher shortage with fixed staffing ratios in the school law, restructured teacher training and more university places. Teachers are to be relieved and career changers better supported.

The Left wants to get more teachers for schools. The school law should say how many staff each school gets. Training should follow the age of students, not the type of school. Magdeburg should get 200 new university places. Teachers should have less paperwork.

Earlier measures that lowered the calculated staffing need are to be reversed. There are to be two teaching degrees, for primary level and for secondary levels I and II, each including special education; the University of Magdeburg is to add 200 first-semester places, some as dual programs tied to later work in the state. New training seminars are planned across the state, for example in Dessau, Stendal or Halberstadt, along with bonus pay for trainee teachers. Career changers are to get a lighter load in their first year and a path to equal status with fully trained teachers. Reduced hours for older teachers are to apply again from age 60, certified education providers are to be allowed to teach classes, and administrative and digital assistants are to take work off teachers.

The Left wants to strengthen adult education centers, educational associations, and other adult education providers and fund their programs reliably with state money. The platform treats education for older people as a distinct part of lifelong learning.

The Left wants to strengthen education for adults. This includes adult education centers. The state should pay for these programs in the long run. Older people should get help with digital technology.

The platform wants to strengthen Volkshochschulen (adult education centers), educational associations, and institutions run by unions, churches, and independent providers. Funding is to continue through the state's Adult Education Act and be sufficient. Older people are to get support with digital tools, for example for dealing with public offices, banking, and health care. According to the platform, meeting places for several generations help counter loneliness and age discrimination. Municipalities are to get help setting up local education networks.

The Left wants to guarantee universities reliable funding and rule out cuts, even if fewer people enroll. Core funding is to grow so that universities depend less on project money. Both medical faculties are to be kept, and the university hospitals are to remain publicly owned.

The Left does not want to give universities less money. This also applies if fewer people study. Universities should get more fixed funding. The two university hospitals should stay in public hands.

The platform calls for a university structure plan that preserves existing structures and allows for development. The federal-state agreement known as the “Zukunftsvertrag Studium und Lehre sichern” is to be co-financed with additional state money. Rising collectively agreed wages and inflation are to be fully offset. Transparent target agreements are meant to provide planning security. Application and accounting procedures are to be simplified for the institutes of the Zuse-Gemeinschaft, and co-financing for non-university research institutions is to be secured.

The Left wants studying in Saxony-Anhalt not to depend on parents' income. It plans a social pact for universities with affordable housing and stable cafeteria prices, free learning materials, and cheaper transportation. It rejects tuition fees and wants to push at the federal level for BAföG (student aid) paid regardless of parental income.

The Left wants to make studying cheaper. Housing and cafeteria meals should be affordable. Learning materials should be free. The transit pass should later cost 9 euros and one day nothing. There should be no tuition fees.

State-owned land is to be made available cheaply for student housing, and the Junges Wohnen (youth housing) program is to be improved. The semester transit pass is to stay at a stable price at first, cost 9 euros in the medium term, and be free in the long term. Fees for a second degree are to be abolished. At the federal level, the Left wants to initiate parent-independent BAföG that reflects average living costs and rises each year at least with inflation. A state fund is to make paid mandatory internships possible and support summer schools, conferences, and internships abroad. The platform also calls for more psychosocial counseling, accessibility, and shorter BAföG processing times.

The Left wants to make it easier to get through a degree: anyone who completes a bachelor's in the state is to get a guaranteed master's place. Standard study periods are to be extended, and support services are to be available in one place.

The Left wants to make studying easier. After a bachelor's degree, everyone should get a place in a master's program. Students should have more time to finish. Help should be available in one single place.

The standard period of study is to be extended so that an eight-semester bachelor's and a four-semester master's can be combined. Certificates proving unfitness to take an exam are to be abolished. Under the motto “one door – many kinds of help,” support in crises, when changing majors, and on questions about the course of study is to be expanded. Part-time study is to be possible, and barriers are to be removed. According to the platform, first-generation students in particular stand to benefit.

The Left wants to make careers for early-career researchers more reliable and make tenure track, the fixed route to a permanent professorship, the norm. The state's graduate funding program is to offer more and higher scholarships. Women in academia are to receive targeted support.

The Left wants secure career paths in research. Young researchers should know early whether they can stay. There should be more scholarships for doctoral students. A scholarship is money for the time of training. Women should get special support.

State scholarship amounts are to follow those of the federal foundations, with subsidies for health and long-term care insurance and no disadvantages for family or caregiving periods. Scholarship periods are to count as work experience in the public sector. Doctoral studies are to be structured through supervision agreements and mentoring, and doctoral positions are to be created at universities of applied sciences. For gender equity, time spent on caregiving is to be credited and professorships made more attractive to women. Welcome packages with help on housing, paperwork, and dual-career placement, along with more tandem professorships, are meant to ease appointments.

The Left wants to secure basic research, make collaborations transparent, and make universities more digitally independent. Research results are to be freely accessible and reach the regions more directly through real-world labs and practical semesters.

The Left wants to strengthen research in the state. Universities should use their own digital services. Research results should be open to everyone. Universities should work more closely with towns, hospitals, schools, and businesses.

A statewide project register is to make collaborations visible. According to the platform, digital independence includes a state cloud, reliable online services, and exit clauses in contracts. Skills in dealing with artificial intelligence are to be promoted. Real-world labs, meaning testing under real conditions, are to connect universities with municipalities, hospitals, schools, and businesses, explicitly including rural areas. Standard contracts and fixed contact points for transfer are meant to speed up cooperation, and moving between academia and practice is to become easier.

The Left wants to fund teacher training reliably and link it more closely to everyday school life. The quality of practical semesters is to be secured, including in rural areas. Career changers entering teaching are to get targeted support and further qualification.

The Left wants to improve teacher training. The money for it should flow permanently. Students should get more practice in schools. People from other jobs should be able to become teachers more easily.

With secure funding, lecturers in subject didactics and educational sciences are to get permanent positions, and moving between school service and university is to be possible. Partner school networks and mentoring are to grow. Language education, inclusion, and digital tools are to be a fixed part of training. A statewide quality framework and annual progress reports are meant to back this up. The Left also wants to introduce new models of teacher training.

The Left wants to keep every daycare center, school and after-school care site in the state. It also wants to adjust staffing ratios in daycare and hire more trained educational staff for schools and after-school care.

No daycare center, school or after-school site should close. The Left wants more staff in daycare. Schools and after-school care should also get more trained staff.

The platform points to frequent cancellations of classes and care and to the loss of social infrastructure, which varies by where people live. The staffing ratio, meaning the number of staff per child, would be changed in daycare centers. For schools and after-school care, the party plans additional positions for trained educational staff.