The trade union for education and science (GEW) believes that the planned moratorium on daycare centers in Saxony is only a first step. It is a great success for early childhood education in Saxony, explained GEW head Burkhard Naumann. However, further steps must now follow in order to avoid the negative consequences of the declining birth rate. "The falling number of children in Saxony could actually provide relief in the overburdened daycare centers. But instead, there is a threat of staff cuts and closures. Nursery teachers are fearing for their jobs and trainees are wondering whether they even have a professional future." There should not be a mass closure of daycare centers like in the 1990s.
The Saxon state parliament wants to decide on a moratorium for daycare centers at its last session of the current legislative period. To this end, the parliament has received motions from the Left Party and the coalition parties CDU, Greens and SPD. The applicants want to ensure that staff in the daycare centers are not laid off, even if the number of girls and boys decreases in the coming months. Until a new budget is passed, the subsidies from the state for the providers of the facilities should remain constant. The Left Party is also calling for an increase in subsidies in the future. With an amendment, the AfD wants to ensure that parents and local authorities are not additionally burdened.
The GEW has scheduled a rally in front of the state parliament this morning. The CDU is also concerned that well-trained nursery teachers will move to other federal states if they are made redundant and will no longer be available if demand increases at a later date. Saxony has a poor childcare ratio compared to the rest of Germany. There are currently five children to one teacher in crèches, 12 in kindergartens and around 20 in after-school care centers. GEW Saxony is calling for a staffing ratio of 1 to 3 in crèches and 1 to 7.5 in kindergartens, among other things.
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