60 schools to benefit from the Startchancen program soon

From the coming school year, 30 elementary school and 30 secondary schools in Saxony are to benefit from the so-called Startchancenprogramm. "The federal and state government's Starting Opportunities Program is intended to give children and young people better educational opportunities regardless of their parents' social situation," the Saxon Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday. Federal funds of one billion per year are to be spent on this for a period of ten years. The Free State of Saxony will receive 43.4 million euros annually from the federal government until 2034.

Each of the schools receiving funding is located half in rural areas and half in independent cities. Further schools are to follow in the next two years, so that a total of 109 elementary school and 74 secondary schools in the Free State will receive financial support.

"One of the main focuses of the program is on teaching the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic as well as strengthening pupils' social and emotional skills," said Minister of Education Christian Piwarz (CDU).

The money is to be used, for example, for learning-promoting and barrier-free learning environments. However, it will not support purely structural repair or renovation measures. Investments will also be made in multi-professional teams and so-called opportunity budgets. Schools are to use these budgets to drive forward school and teaching development under their own responsibility.