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The education union GEW in Baden-Württemberg is urging for funds previously allocated but not spent on education to be redirected back into the sector. However, the status of 1,440 ghost teaching positions, which are allocated but unfunded or unfilled teaching posts, remains unclear.
These ghost teaching positions, a topic of political and educational debate in the past, are typically positions that are counted in budgets but not actually financed or staffed. In Baden-Württemberg, the state parliament has allocated funds for these positions, but the actual budgetary resources to fill them have been short or delayed.
The current status of these 1,440 ghost positions is not conclusively known due to a lack of precise, recent data. If filled, each position would correspond to one teacher in approximately every third school across the state's 4,500 schools.
Interestingly, the government has set aside reserves for unplanned personnel costs, known as "Personalglobaltitel", but no money has been allocated for the ghost positions in the current budget plan. The cost of filling these positions would amount to around 120 million euros per year.
The Ministry of Culture admits to a "very exclusive mobility behaviour" among applicants, with many preferring urban areas over rural ones. Despite this challenge, the ministry reports that the application situation is currently better than before, partly due to the creation of more study places by the government.
It's worth noting that the 1,440 positions represent only 1.5% of the total staff positions in the state (95,000). Despite the unfilled positions, the state has not saved money due to their malfunction, and no money has been paid out for the ghost teachers.
For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it is recommended to consult the official publications of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Education or recent state budget documents.
In the ongoing debate surrounding the ghost teaching positions in Baden-Württemberg, it's evident that these unfilled roles, typically allocated but not funded, are a matter of both politics and education-and-self-development. The current standstill could potentially impact vocational training opportunities within the community, as each vacant position could correspond to a teacher in approximately every third school across the state's 4,500 schools. If filled, the cost of these positions would amount to around 120 million euros per year, a significant investment for education and self-development.
