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Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Baden-Württemberg's SPD accuses Culture Minister Susanne Eisenmann (CDU) of a communicative and organizational failure in coping with the Corona crisis in schools.
In this context, state party leader Andreas Stoch referred on Saturday to statements made by several trade union and association representatives at a virtual education conference on Friday evening at the invitation of the SPD to find the best solutions in the education sector in the coming weeks.
According to the opposition party, in addition to the education and science union, regional parent and school student councils, elementary school and philologist associations as well as representatives of school principals, municipalities and school psychologists also took part.
Stoch told the German Press Agency that most of the participants had already expressed their gratitude for having been heard in such a format at all, because the Ministry of Culture had not yet initiated such a round table.
Instead, "official" regulations would be drawn up, there was no room for solutions in joint coordination, commented Stoch.
Many participants complained that they were not involved in decisions about school closings, emergency care offers or early school openings.
«That leaves me stunned.
From my point of view, the basics of a crisis is that I bring those involved around the table and we look for solutions together.
And they have been waiting for nine months - and the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs isn't doing that, "said Stoch, who was Education Minister himself from 2013 to 2016 and is now the SPD's top candidate for the state elections on March 14th.
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The federal and state governments recently agreed to extend the lockdown to contain the corona pandemic until February 14th, in the meantime there are only emergency care offers at schools and daycare centers.
However, Baden-Württemberg's green-black state government is planning to gradually open primary schools and daycare centers as early as February 1, if the number of infections allows it, primarily under pressure from the CDU, which Eisenmann led in the state election campaign.
Eisenmann argues that consideration must be given to the long-term damage that the continued closure of schools would entail.
Regardless, the goal of opening it up this early has met with a lot of criticism.
Because of anger at Eisenmann, the former ministerial director and former government spokesman for Baden-Württemberg, Hans Georg Koch, left the CDU after more than 40 years.
In a letter to the editor in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, the confidante of the former Prime Minister Erwin Teufel (1991-2005) explains his withdrawal: “First of all, because the top candidate of the CDU has been trying for weeks to make political capital out of the Corona crisis;
secondly, because there is obviously no one in the CDU Baden-Württemberg who (or they) even tries to slow them down. "
Koch showed no understanding "with what doggedness the Baden-Württemberg Minister of Education (...) is opening daycare centers and primary schools quickly".
There is nothing to be said against giving small children social contacts and education.
"But if you are concerned with the children and their parents, you should know that an alleged premature" concession "would be carried out on the back of those affected if the numbers worsen instead of - as is foolhardy assumed - massively improve."
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Stoch said that in view of the slow decline in the number of infections, the participants at his conference had pleaded for the schools to be gradually reopened only after the carnival holidays from February 22nd - depending on the infection situation and school system, it would be best to use an alternating model, which only ever half of a class is also present at school.
From the point of view of the group he initiated, it was too early to open educational institutions as early as February 1st.
There is a general dispute not only about the timing of school openings, but also about the model.
For example, Baden-Württemberg's cities and municipalities recently campaigned for the early opening of primary schools without alternating operations.
Alternating operation with parallel emergency care would "cause great confusion (and) cause maximum organizational effort," it said.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210123-99-140079 / 2
Orientation notes from the Ministry of Culture for emergency care in schools