The state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is currently amending the Teacher Education Act (LBG). The law is the basis for all teacher education in our federal state. It provides an important framework for the training of student teachers at the state’s universities.

For many years, the student body has criticized the design of teacher education courses: too much specialist knowledge, too little practice. Too little networking of content, too much uncertainty about the actual profession.

We now need a fundamental reform of teacher education in our federal state! The student body is actively involved and has drawn up a comprehensive list of demands. The student parliament of the University of Rostock (StuRa) only clarified the demands on June 24, 2024.

Resolution of the student council

In discussions with the Minister of Science, Bettina Martin, we see a good way forward for the reform. Ultimately, the final draft of the reform bill remains to be seen.

We remain committed to ensuring that the amendment of the act is carried out on the basis of the facts. There is no need for misinformation and party political profiling in this process. All democrats want a better education system and should not be trying to outdo each other. The General Students’ Committee of the University of Rostock (AStA) made this clear in a press release.

Press release on the Teacher Training Act

We would also like to provide our students with extensive information. To this end, we as student representatives have held forums for direct input. All new steps within the reform are also coordinated with the Student Teacher Conference (SLK). All teaching staff student councils are represented there, which have an even more direct line to the students of the individual subjects.

We have summarized the latest information on secondary school teaching.

What is changing and how can we imagine the secondary school teaching profession?

In the secondary school teaching education, the ‘Gymnasium’ school and regional school teaching educations will be merged into one education course.
The number of credit points to be earned in the subject-specific sciences will be reduced (presumably to 90 credit points per subject) and the subject-specific didactic credit points will be increased (presumably to 18 credit points per subject). At the same time, there will be a free elective area, which will include profile lines and a free area (presumably 12 CP). In the educational sciences, the number of credit points will probably change to 45 CP. We have specific demands regarding the structure of the teacher training course and educational sciences.

The ‘Gymnasium’ school type will not be abolished for the secondary school teaching profession. According to KMK regulations, the traineeship must last at least 12 months in one type of school. This means that at the end of the course and before the traineeship, you decide on a type of school where you will then start your traineeship. This means that you do not decide at the beginning of your studies, but at the end with more experience in the teaching profession. This gives you an extended qualification during your studies, which makes it easier to change school type. There will be no compulsory allocation to a particular type of school. The rules already in force will not be changed.

What does this mean for students?

The amendment to the Teacher Education Act is shaping our educational landscape and teacher training for the future. This reform process does not affect students who are already studying to become teachers or will start in the next two years! Such a major reform needs time to come into force. We therefore do not expect it to be implemented at universities until the winter semester 2026/27. The reform will therefore affect future generations, who will later become our colleagues.

What happens next with the secondary school teaching education?

Innovations, developments and comments on the Teacher Education Act are processed by the Center for Teacher Education (ZLB) and presented in reform commissions for the amendment. These commissions have been held regularly since the reform was announced.

Over time, the teacher training subjects will take up the reform and implement it in course-specific study regulations. This means that modules will be changed. In the end, the whole thing has to be approved by the university policy and will then probably come into force in the winter semester 2026/27 at the earliest. 

In the past, the AStA published a press release on the first reform of the Teacher Education Act (regarding traineeships). The Student Vice-Rector also took part in the expert hearing of the Education Committee. The statement and the information as well as the minutes of the committee meeting are available at the Landtag (https://www.landtag-mv.de/landtag/ausschuesse/ausschuesse/bildungsausschuss/oeffentliche-anhoerungen)