Jan Riedel, the Education Minister of Saxony-Anhalt (CDU), has accused universities of prioritizing the wrong components in their teacher training programs. Speaking to the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung,” Riedel argues that student teacher programs are overly saturated with core subject matter, claiming that this results in an unforgiving selection process and a substantial number of students dropping out.
According to the minister, however, subjects that would actively help teachers in their daily work are being neglected. Riedel criticizes that practical areas such as subject-specific didactics, pedagogy, and psychology hold too low a status at the university level. He stressed that the schools need educators who are passionate about teaching, rather than individuals primarily focused on finding new solutions to mathematical problems.
However, officials at the University of Halle reject these criticisms as unfounded. Torsten Fritzlar, the director of the center for teacher education at the University of Halle, stated that teacher training constitutes a scientific study and requires sound, established academic knowledge. Fritzlar further pointed out that the scope of the required subjects is regulated by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education, and these guidelines must be adhered to for the resulting degrees to be officially recognized.
