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Classroom: Certificates of appointment to the »Studienrat« sent out

Photo: imago stock / imago images/Jochen Tack

In the future, Hamburg will pay primary school teachers in the same way as their colleagues at grammar schools and vocational schools. Secondary and secondary school teachers will also benefit from the change to the new school year, as a spokesman for the school board announced on Sunday.

In addition to the extraordinary salary increase, 4200 civil servants and around 800 permanent educators as well as 600 pre-school teachers will also receive a promotion. It was said that certificates of appointment to the "Studienrat" or "Studienrätin" had already been sent to the primary school teachers.

In the case of a full-time position, this amounts to 400 to 500 euros per month, depending on seniority and salary level. A married primary school teacher with one child and six years of professional experience in Hamburg now comes to over 5300 euros gross per month, of which 4000 euros net remained after deduction of taxes and social security, the authority spokesman explained as an example.

»A great feat of strength«

"The salary increase for teachers in primary schools and pre-school classes is a major feat, with personnel costs rising by around 48 million euros per year," said school senator Ties Rabe (SPD), according to the statement. Nevertheless, the step is the right one.

Educational scientists have long proven that good primary school education is just as important for the educational success of children and young people as pedagogy in secondary schools.

More on the subject

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  • Career changers as teachers: School researchers warn against "undermining" established standards

  • Teacher shortage: The housewife calculus in the German school systemAn essay by Silke Fokken

  • Shortage of teachers: Only half of student teachers go on to school

In the future, therapists at Hamburg schools will also be better paid. Although their salaries, like those of the kindergarten teachers, would be determined in Germany-wide collective bargaining between the states and trade unions, Hamburg would adjust the pay in a transitional arrangement.

Some schools are lacking 18 full-time employees

The city-state of Hamburg prevents lesson cancellations by assigning schools more jobs than would be mathematically necessary. However, in the spring, the Senate had to admit in response to a request from the Left Party that numerous positions remained unfilled. On average, there is a shortage of three-quarters of a position at each school.

In practice, the shortage is unevenly distributed, as the statistics in the Senate's response show: some district schools actually have a reserve, while others lack up to 18 full-time staff.

mpz/dpa