Germany's education inequality worsens amid funding cuts

Germany's education crisis deepens as inequality and budget cuts collide

Next week, the familiar spectacle will unfold once more. Politicians will deliver their polished Sunday speeches, extolling the virtues of education for society. They will offer explanations for why, despite all efforts, Germany's school system remains one of the most unequal in Europe. And with gritted teeth, they will lament that the promise of upward mobility in this country still goes unfulfilled. They will recite their well-crafted lines—likely without grasping just how short-sighted their own actions are.

The occasion for this upcoming ritual is the Opportunity Monitor, a report by Munich's ifo Institute set to be released on Tuesday. For a preview: the last such study revealed that educational inequality has not improved one bit over the past decade. Parents' income and education levels still determine whether a child has excellent or dismal odds of attending a Gymnasium (academic high school). Recently, only 31 out of 100 children from disadvantaged backgrounds earned their Abitur (university entrance qualification) or Fachabitur (vocational diploma)—compared to 79 from more affluent families. The new figures on Tuesday will probably look much the same. Anything else would be a staggering surprise.

That no such surprise is in store also stems from past and present austerity frenzies. Whether at the municipal, state, or federal level, when budgets must be cut, social and educational programs are often the first on the chopping block. Need an example? In Saxony, more than half of all districts have slashed or entirely eliminated school social work positions in just two years. Several states—including Saxony and Berlin—have reduced school budgets and similar programs that fund class trips, sports courses, or workshops. Hesse has just axed hundreds of teaching posts at Gesamtschulen and integrated secondary schools—the very institutions already struggling with high rates of canceled classes. The list goes on.

Just how far the federal government might go is laid bare in a paper commissioned by the Chancellery, outlining cuts that would hit children, young people, and individuals with disabilities hard—such as funding for inclusive school support. Vulnerable groups do not appear to be a priority for Berlin. Consider the back-and-forth over BAföG (state financial aid for students). For months, the coalition partners—CDU/CSU and SPD—have been squabbling over which budget should cover the long-overdue (and promised) increases. It speaks volumes that the government readily allocated more funds for a two-month fuel discount than all BAföG commitments combined would cost over an entire legislative term. These priorities are nothing short of disgraceful.

Investments in young people? What's in it for me?

It fits the pattern that Germany ranks dead last in the EU for education spending as a share of GDP. One has to wonder: does anyone still listen to education researchers? For years, they have stressed that every euro invested in education pays off twofold or threefold. A recent model calculation suggests that targeted investments in daycare and schools could generate an additional €6.7 trillion for Germany over 50 years—more than ten times the current federal budget.

The problem—you guessed it—is the long-term perspective, which politicians seem unwilling to embrace. After all, they prefer to court older voters, the demographic that actually turns out on election day. Their attitude? Programs for young people, investments in their future? What's in it for me?

Olaf Köller, a leading education researcher from Kiel, recently summed up the situation: "Every cut in education only leads to deeper economic troubles for Germany in the long run." He estimates that 25 to 30 percent of young people today have little to no chance of securing an apprenticeship—they have been left that far behind. The high rate is partly due to the early tracking system that separates students into Gymnasien and other school types. This, too, has been common knowledge for years.

Yet no one dares tackle the issue since Hamburg's 2010 reform push provoked backlash from conservative circles, who apparently view extended common learning as an imposition on their own children. So instead of equal opportunity, we get precarious patchwork solutions—because, evidently, that is preferable to giving every child a fair shot.

The grand coalition's only real bright spot in education policy, incidentally, was inherited from the traffic-light government. Thanks to the "Opportunity Starter Program," 4,000 high-need schools across Germany are receiving extra resources. But even here, there's a catch: some states are happily pocketing the federal funds—only to scale back their own initiatives.

With this half-hearted approach, achieving equal opportunity will be an uphill battle. At least we'll know where we stand by Tuesday. I can hardly wait for the incredible Sunday speeches.