The North Rhine-Westphalian SPD plans a fundamental restructuring of the state’s education system, according to reports from Der Spiegel. Designate candidate Jochen Ott envisions a model based on essentially two types of advanced schooling should his party win the upcoming election: Gymnasiums and unified schools (Gesamtschulen).
Currently, the state operates more than half a dozen different educational forms, a complexity Ott deems confusing. The politician, who is also a teacher, intends to make education policy a cornerstone of the SPD’s election campaign. His proposed reforms also aim to redirect more resources toward non-Gymnasium schools, mirroring practices already implemented in Hamburg.
Beyond domestic schooling, Ott stated that North Rhine-Westphalia should adopt a significantly more assertive stance within the Conference of Education Ministers (KMK), particularly concerning the timing of summer holidays. He criticized the traditional August and September vacation periods observed in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. “Bavaria has always argued that children need to help with the harvest there. That is obviously nonsense today” Ott remarked. He urged NRW to approach the issue with more flexibility, suggesting that “Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg should go on holiday either early or late”.
Jochen Ott is scheduled to be nominated as the top candidate for the SPD during next week’s state delegate conference. Elections for the state parliament are slated for April 2027 in the state’s most populous region. The current government in Düsseldorf is run by a black-green coalition.
