Hesse Moves to Cut Teacher Training Time as Union Warns of Quality Risks
Published on 09/02/2026 at 06:43 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Trainee teachers in Hesse could soon be spending less time in the classroom before they qualify — but the people responsible for training them say the plan goes too far, too fast.
The state's CDU-SPD coalition government has submitted draft legislation that would shorten the preparatory service known as the Referendariat from 21 months to 18. The proposal, which received its first reading in the Hessian state parliament on 2 September 2026, is designed to push university graduates into full-time teaching posts more quickly.
At the heart of the reform is a calculation about supply and demand. With schools across the state competing for qualified staff, the government argues that trimming three months off the training pipeline will put fully certified teachers in front of classes sooner. The move is being framed as a structural response to persistent staffing pressures in Hessian schools.
But the changes do not stop at the calendar. The legislation also raises the ceiling on independent teaching hours for trainees from 12 to 16 per week. That means Referendare would take sole charge of classes earlier in their training and carry a heavier timetable while still learning the craft. The government sees this dual adjustment — less time overall, more responsibility within it — as a way to deepen practical experience and ease the load on schools at the same time.
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The Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), the education workers' union, is pushing back hard. Its representatives argue that compressing the training period will erode the quality of teacher preparation. Pedagogical formation, they insist, needs sufficient time to develop if trainees are to meet the demands of modern classrooms.
Union officials have also flagged a more immediate concern: pairing a shorter overall duration with up to 16 weekly hours of solo teaching could overwhelm trainees. The added classroom burden, they say, leaves less room for reflection, lesson planning and the methodological grounding that the profession requires.
The bill now moves to committee stage in the state parliament, where the details will be scrutinised before any final vote on implementation.
