Brandenburg's Leadership Shies Away from Pisa Conference Discussion
In the wake of Germany's dismal performance in the Pisa study, Dietmar Woidke, Brandenburg's head of government, prefers a more gradual approach. Woidke, a member of the SPD, advocates for an in-depth discussion at the level of the responsible state ministries in conjunction with the KMK, rather than rushing into a Minister Presidents' Conference, as suggested by some, including Kai Gehring and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Pisa study, carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), reveals that 15-16-year-olds in Germany struggled most in reading, mathematics, and science compared to their counterparts in other industrialized nations. These findings, published on Tuesday, have sparked uproar, particularly due to Germany's usual high expectations.
Calls for a special Minister Presidents' Conference to address these poor education results have been growing, with Kai Gehring urging the heads of government for federal states to convene due to the seriousness of the issue. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, too, has expressed his concern, considering these results an alarming signal.
Despite these impassioned pleas, Woidke believes the conversation should first take place among the education ministers, ensuring that the state of the education system within German schools is thoroughly addressed and understood before any discussions at a higher level.
