As the new school year begins, many German schools are confronting an acute staffing crisis that shows no signs of easing. Despite increased hiring and various state-level initiatives, the gap between available teachers and required coverage remains wide, particularly in STEM subjects, special education, and the arts.
The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK) projects a nationwide shortfall of around 27,000 fully qualified teachers. This structural deficit is not just a statistical abstraction; it translates into cancelled lessons, overburdened staff, and a growing sense of unease among parents and educators alike.
Regional strains and long-term absences
In Brandenburg, Education Minister Gordon Hoffmann (CDU) warned in June that the state may no longer be able to guarantee the standard timetable everywhere in the coming school year. Rural areas and subjects like biology and chemistry are particularly affected. North Rhine-Westphalia, despite having over 166,000 teaching posts, still had more than 7,770 unfilled positions recently.
Berlin offers a stark illustration of how sickness-related absences exacerbate the situation. According to the city's education administration, 380 teachers have been on sick leave for at least a year, including 225 civil servants and 155 salaried employees. Among them, 143 civil servants have been absent for over a year, 50 for at least two years, and 18 for a decade or more. Primary schools are hardest hit, with 98 teachers on long-term leave, followed by secondary schools (54), grammar schools (34), and vocational schools (27).
Alexander King, a member of the Berlin parliament from the BSW party, attributes this trend partly to the staffing crunch itself: inadequate coverage increases the workload on remaining teachers, which can in turn lead to more sickness-related absences. This vicious cycle is a concern echoed across the country.
In Hesse, around 225 of approximately 67,000 teachers have been ill for at least a year, with 16 out for more than five years. Psychological strain and physical complaints are cited as common causes. North Rhine-Westphalia reports that teachers were on sick leave for an average of 8.43% of working days in 2025, higher than the state administration average. Hauptschulen (secondary modern schools) saw rates as high as 9.83%. In Saxony-Anhalt, 8.6% of lessons in the 2024/25 school year were cancelled due to lack of cover.
Nationwide data on long-term sick leave is fragmented, as states collect and publish different metrics. Some define long-term illness as absences exceeding 30 days, while others use different thresholds. Nevertheless, surveys indicate that at least several hundred teachers across Germany are affected.
An aging workforce and rising pupil numbers
The crisis is set to deepen as a significant portion of the teaching workforce approaches retirement. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 35.4% of teachers at general education schools were at least 50 years old in the 2024/25 school year, with 10% aged 60 or older. This impending wave of retirements coincides with a projected increase in pupil numbers: from just under 11.2 million in 2024 to nearly 11.8 million by 2032, a rise of about 5.3%. Although numbers are expected to dip slightly after that, by 2040 there will still be around 11.3 million pupils.
Training new teachers takes years, and the current pipeline is insufficient to meet demand. States are experimenting with lateral entrants and financial incentives, but these measures have not closed the gap. The situation is particularly acute in STEM fields, where competition for qualified professionals extends beyond the education sector.
As Germany grapples with this challenge, other European countries are also facing teacher shortages, though the scale and policy responses vary. The Danish approach to AI in schools highlights how technology might alleviate some pressures, but it cannot replace the human element of teaching. Meanwhile, the Baltic oil discovery near the Polish-German border underscores the broader regional dynamics that can influence public spending priorities.
The coming years will test the resilience of Germany's education system. Without sustained investment and innovative solutions, the promise of a quality education for every child may become increasingly difficult to keep.
