In many schools in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, there is a shortage of teachers. The authorities of Saxony-Anhalt are looking for almost 1,000 new teachers, and for the first time they are seeking them among foreigners.

– With the job posting, the state is opening up to foreigners with a bachelor's degree from which a subject cannot be directly derived for the first time, the Ministry of Education announced on Monday in Magdeburg.

After one year of probationary work, these alternative candidates should be given the possibility of permanent employment. A total of 992 positions have been advertised, including 348 in secondary schools, 175 in primary schools and 164 in grammar schools, 93 in special needs schools and 50 in vocational schools. The application deadline ends on October 3.

The state is paying a supplement for 176 advertised jobs. In this way, potential candidates for hard-to-fill positions receive an additional incentive to apply. Like other federal states, Saxony-Anhalt has a serious shortage of teachers. According to the Ministry of Education, the so-called teaching coverage currently stands at 92 percent – therefore lower than ever before.

So far, Saxony-Anhalt has managed to employ 75 teachers from foreign countries. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said they had been found during a search across Europe since last year. The budget for agencies searching for teachers was 750,000 euros. The spokesperson said the search would be expanded in the near future. Then teachers would probably be able to be recruited worldwide.

– In the current situation, we must leave no stone unturned in order to find well-trained teachers for our schools, Education Minister Eva Feußner (CDU) told Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, which first reported on the new figures.

Agencies searching for teachers bear the costs only after the teachers sign their contracts. Candidates must prove that they possess sufficient knowledge of the German language; otherwise, according to the information, the same conditions apply as for all applicants.

Source: fenix-magazin.de