Facing growing spending on civil servants and their pensions, economists, politicians, and the Taxpayers’ Association are urging the cessation of teacher professionalisation. “The strongest lever to contain these costs over the long term is a more restrained professionalisation policy from now on” said economist Martin Werding of the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition). “This applies particularly to public employees who do not perform clear sovereign duties, such as teachers”.
Saxony’s Minister of Culture, Conrad Clemens (CDU), also spoke against further teacher appointments. “The civil‑servant status for teachers is outdated” he said. “We can no longer afford widespread professionalisation of teachers; the burden on households is simply too high”. At the Education Ministers’ Conference this week he plans to propose that, from 2030 onward, no new teachers will be made civil servants. “We must generally question where we still employ civil servants” Clemens added.
The Taxpayers’ Association backs this stance. “Germany’s XXL civil‑servant system places enormous pressure on public budgets” said Association president Reiner Holznagel. “The civil‑servant status must therefore be put on the test: its scope and privileges should be critically examined, as the financial divide in society widens and workers in the private sector can only shake their heads”.