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Timetable on the board (symbolic image)
Photo: Friso Gentsch/dpa
"Fatal", "populist proposals": The German Music Council has reacted with sharp criticism to the Bavarian plans to redesign primary school lessons.
Because of the poor school performance, as recently identified in the Pisa study and the IQB education trend, the Bavarian state government wants to require more mathematics and German lessons.
In return, there should be fewer hours either in the areas of art, music and crafts or in English lessons - or even both.
However, religious instruction with three hours per week in grades three and four will not be affected.
The Bavarian cabinet decided that.
The move to "combine the creative disciplines and thereby devalue and cut them de facto is just as fatal as Markus Söder's populist proposals to halve the public broadcasting ensembles," complains Christian Höppner, General Secretary of the German Music Council Bavaria's Prime Minister.
Musical education opens hearts and minds to togetherness and to dealing with the uncertainties of our time: "Because music reaches people in an unprecedented breadth and depth - Söder and his education minister apparently do not." Anyone who puts music on the sidelines in this way will become one does not do justice to political responsibility “and sins against the future of our children.”
CSU and churches prevail
Bavaria's Education Minister Anna Stolz (Free Voters), however, emphasized that no subject would be completely eliminated.
Weeks ago, Stolz announced that he wanted to strengthen the subjects of German and mathematics in primary schools in response to the poor German PISA results.
From the next school year onwards, there will be one hour more German lessons in grades one to four, and one hour more in math in grades one and three. However, the overall number of hours in primary school will not increase.
The bottom line is that one hour is added in class one and one hour is lost in class four.
For this, for example, there must be cuts in the areas of art, music and crafts or English in grades three and four.
Possibly even in both areas, if one hour of flexible support is to remain (which will be called “flexible hour” in the future).
Otherwise this will be omitted.
The decision lies with the schools.
If schools stick to it, the “flexible hour” can be assigned to each subject or used for support measures.
The CSU has thus prevailed with its veto against any cuts in religious education.
Stolz initially did not rule out reductions in the subject of religion, which is taught in grades three and four with three hours per week each.
Whereupon the CSU, even after loud intervention from the church, immediately objected and declared that there would be no cuts in religion.
Stolz now said that she respects this and does not see it as a defeat - even if she could have imagined giving the schools more leeway.
him/dpa