Brandenburg parents warn Woidke of looming teaching gaps as teacher shortage deepens

Hoffmann concedes curriculum cannot be guaranteed everywhere

The intervention comes after Education Minister Gordon Hoffmann (CDU) publicly acknowledged that the curriculum can no longer be guaranteed at every school in Brandenburg from August. Speaking on Deutschlandfunk, Hoffmann said: "Ich sage heute ganz klar: Wir wissen, dass wir dieses Ziel im neuen Schuljahr nicht mehr überall erreichen werden," referring to the state's longstanding goal of securing the curriculum across all schools. He also signalled that the number of teaching hours in Brandenburg schools could be adjusted in the coming school year as a result of the acute teacher shortage.

Hoffmann outlined a second remedy: deploying teachers at locations other than their current ones. "Wir versuchen zunächst, Umsetzungen auf freiwilliger Basis vorzunehmen," he said, stressing that reassignments would initially be sought on a voluntary basis rather than imposed. The approach is designed to plug the most pressing gaps but offers no guarantee of full coverage.

Parents question how quality can be maintained

The Landeselternrat questioned how quality could be maintained under these conditions. It wrote: "Eltern fragen sich zunehmend, wie Unterricht, Förderung und Bildungsqualität unter diesen Bedingungen noch gewährleistet werden sollen," and asked, in a separate passage: "Man frage sich zunehmend, wie Unterricht, Förderung und Qualität unter diesen Bedingungen noch gewährleistet werden könnten." The council framed the situation as a structural crisis rather than a temporary disruption.

Budget cuts and the coalition's response

The current pressures have been compounded by earlier budgetary decisions. In the 2025 budget, the then-ruling SPD and BSW coalition cut 345 full-time teaching positions for savings reasons, a reduction that the new SPD-CDU coalition is now trying to reverse. According to the dpa news agency, the coalition plans to create 250 additional teaching positions to counter the shortage, though the net effect will still leave the system smaller than before the cuts.

The open letter is addressed to Minister President Woidke and copies the Education Ministry, signalling that parents expect a coordinated response from the top of the state government rather than from the education administration alone. The Landeselternrat's central demand is that teaching, support and educational quality be secured for every child, regardless of where they live in Brandenburg.

The parents' council warned that without swift action, the start of the school year in August could see a repeat of last term's disrupted schedules, with classes cancelled, subjects combined and support hours reduced. It is calling on the state to treat the issue as a priority and to communicate clearly with families about what they can expect when the new term begins.