Even if a reform would cost a lot of money, Patrick Remakel, the president of the teachers' union SNE-CGFP, believes Luxembourg should be willing to make large investments "for the sake of our children's education."
"We contributed to the first 'Quereinsteiger' system with gritted teeth, on condition that something would change," Patrick Remakel, the president of the teachers' union SNE-CGFP, told our colleagues from RTL Radio on Wednesday morning. However, to the union's dismay, "this has not been the case over the past five years, and now there is a second 'Quereinsteiger' model."
-> 'A slap in the face': Students criticise new bachelor's degree in teaching
'Quereinsteiger' is a German word that literally means "lateral entrants." In the context of education, the term refers to those who hold a bachelor's degree relevant to one of the primary education objectives and go on to become teachers after initial training and a one-year university course.
New 'Quereinsteiger' have advantages over traditionally trained teachers
Remakel criticised that those who pursue the new bachelor's degree in teaching will benefit from advantages that "offend" those who followed the 'traditional' university route to becoming a teacher. Under the new system, "applicants will have two bachelor's degrees in their pocket, which gives them more flexibility on the labour market." At the same time, Remakel believes that the new course "lacks practical training."
Traditional training needs to be reformed and raised to Masters level
For Remakel, it would have been better to "reform the traditional training and raise it to the level of a master's degree." This would have provided holders of such a degree more options if they ever wished to change careers. The president of the teachers' union acknowledged that such a reform "would cost a lot of money," but added, "what a poor country we would be if we are not prepared to invest more money to make education even better."
Minister has failed to make teaching profession more attractive
Teachers should be able to focus on teaching again, Remakel stressed, which is why the number of administrative tasks they have to deal with should be reduced. "At present, the teaching profession is no longer appealing enough to students," he regrets. According to the president of the teachers' union, it has been clear since 2018 that there is a shortage and the SNE-CGFP has already offered ideas to the Ministry on how to solve the issue, such as launching a campaign, "but nothing happened."
