Basic knowledge of computer science has not only been of increasing importance for a few years - in professional life as well as in everyday life when it comes to understanding the ever more diverse digital applications.
While a large majority of countries in Europe are now making computer science compulsory in general schools, Germany is far behind in this respect.
This is shown by a current analysis by the Donors' Association for German Science, which the FAZ has received in advance.
Dietrich Creutzburg
Business correspondent in Berlin.
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In 28 out of a total of 37 European countries examined, schoolchildren receive compulsory computer science lessons across the board for at least part of their school years, in some countries from primary school, the analysis shows.
Germany, on the other hand, belongs to a group of 9 countries without compulsory teaching in this subject across the board.
According to the analysis, which is based on data from a survey by the EU Commission, most federal states offer computer science either only as an elective, only in short units or not at all.
Only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony stand out positively with at least two years of mandatory computer science courses.
"In order not to endanger Germany's competitiveness even further, not only must all federal states introduce a compulsory subject informatics, but also offer it over a period of more than one or two years," says the paper that the Stifterverband together with Heinz -Nixdorf Foundation.
This is also how the digital association Bitkom sees it: “Germany needs mandatory nationwide computer science classes from lower secondary level, which primarily promote programming skills, but also social-cultural and application-oriented discussions on digital technologies.”
Almost 100,000 vacancies for IT professionals
A central argument is the change in the labor market, which is causing the demand for digital and IT skills to rise sharply in many professional fields.
The Stifterverband refers to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, according to which such knowledge is now required in four out of five professions, and among highly qualified professions this even applies to 94 percent.
And according to a Bitkom survey, almost 100,000 positions for IT specialists were already vacant in 2021 - with a foreseeable sharp increase in demand.
However, it is not only about economic aspects, but also about the importance for society as a whole, as emphasized by the Stifterverband, a traditional joint initiative of German industry: "Maturity requires competent use of digital media," he emphasizes.
"Only those who have IT skills can realistically assess the opportunities and risks of a digitized world" - whether in data management, in questions of the protection of personal data or in digital communication.
It is true that the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) of the federal states that have sovereignty over schools has recently stated that it aims to strengthen computer science teaching.
However, according to critics – as is so often the case – there is a lack of resolute implementation.
In a recommendation made by the KMK at the end of 2021, it said: “In the coming years, implementation strategies to promote IT skills should be developed.” ."
20,000 teachers are missing
In September 2022, the Standing Academic Conference of the KMK presented a broad-based report that makes this clearer - but it is initially only a report: So far, the "teaching of digital skills and computer science content has not yet been sufficiently anchored in the educational plans," she writes - and recommended introducing "computer science as a compulsory subject in all federal states from the 2024/25 school year" onwards from the 5th grade.
The current evaluation by the Stifterverband finds that there is actually progress in some federal states.
Lower Saxony, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein are planning to gradually introduce a compulsory subject informatics across the board from autumn 2023.
Hamburg wants to follow in 2024.
Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia have already introduced compulsory classes, but with a duration of less than two years they have so far fallen short of the recommendations.
In the top group of the European comparison there are, for example, Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
There, computer science lessons are continuously held from elementary schools onwards.
In this country, however, in addition to political hesitation and the question of what should be left out of the curriculum, there is another practical problem: According to projections by the Stifterverband, there is a shortage of 20,000 IT teachers - their training must first be organized in sufficient breadth.