Politics · Germany · 3 days ago
About 65,000 students in Germany left school without a qualification
About 65,000 young people in Germany left school without at least a basic school qualification in the 2024/2025 school year.
They made up 8.4% of school leavers, the highest share in more than 20 years.
The number rose from 62,000 the year before and 56,000 two years earlier.
A decade earlier, 5.6% of school leavers had no qualification.
Education researchers say the increase fits a longer trend of more students missing basic learning goals.
The government is supporting schools with many pupils facing learning difficulties or poverty, and a bill discussed in parliament would introduce skills checks for four-year-olds in kindergarten.
The education minister says early language support can help children prepare for school, while the Greens argue that the plans need more funding and staff.
The sources do not say when the proposed kindergarten measures will take effect.
About 65,000 students left German schools without a qualification in the 2024/25 school year, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
They accounted for 8.4% of school leavers, the highest share in more than 20 years.
The figure was 62,000 in the previous school year and 56,000 the year before that.
The share without at least a lower secondary qualification was 5.6% in 2014/15, according to t-online.
Education officials and experts cited language support and wider educational support as important responses.
- Who
- About 65,000 young people who left school in Germany without a qualification.
- What
- The share of school leavers without at least a lower secondary qualification reached 8.4%.
- When
- In the 2024/25 school year.
- Where
- Germany.
- Why
- Not stated. Articles discuss possible contributing factors and proposed support, but do not establish a single cause.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The share of school leavers without at least a lower secondary qualification was 5.6%, according to t-online.
The share was about 6.6%, according to n-tv.
The Conference of Education Ministers decided to end examination easements introduced during the pandemic.
About 56,000 students left school without a qualification.
About 65,000 students left school without a qualification, representing 8.4% of school leavers.
- Share without qualification
- 8.4% in 2024/25
- Number without qualification
- About 65,000 in 2024/25
- Previous school year
- 62,000 school leavers without a qualification
- Year before that
- 56,000 school leavers without a qualification
- Comparison
- 5.6% in 2014/15, according to t-online
What people are saying
Diese Zahlen müssen uns beschweren
Wer die deutsche Sprache nicht erlernt bis zur Einschulung, wird große Schwierigkeiten haben, überhaupt im Bildungssystem anzukommen. Alles, was dann passiert, wird immer mehr zum Reparaturbetrieb
Wer die Sprache nicht beherrscht, verliert in der Schule oft den Anschluss; wer keine Perspektive sieht, verliert die Motivation
Wir sehen seit Jahren, dass mehr Jugendliche grundlegende Kompetenzziele verfehlen. Der Anstieg der Schulabgänge ohne Abschluss passt zu dieser Entwicklung
Sources
Related news
Bärbel Bas to leave German labour ministry and SPD leadership
BMW withdraws car lease offer for new parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt
SPD and Left back coalition talks with Greens in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Bärbel Bas resigns as German labour minister and SPD co-chair
CDU lawmakers may leave chamber to avoid votes for AfD candidate
Merz says a Trump-Russia diesel deal is out of the question for Europe
Saxony-Anhalt CDU leaders propose leaving chamber during premier vote
Nine Union state ministers oppose Germany’s planned sugar tax
Bavarian SPD district calls for Gerhard Schröder’s expulsion
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul breaks hip in fall
Weimer warns SPD against coalition with the Left in Berlin
