Several billion euros have been invested in the digitalization of schools in recent years. Now the funding is stalling. The states are becoming impatient.
The dispute between the federal and state governments over the money for further digitization in schools is still simmering. “We are now at the point where the federal government’s draft budget unfortunately still does not provide any clarity as to what the next digital pact will look like,” said the President of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK), Saarland’s Minister of Education Christine Streichert-Clivot (SPD), on Wednesday in Saarbrücken. The states are now “extremely impatient.” A special meeting of the KMK was called on September 2nd to discuss how the new digital pact can be negotiated with the federal government.
For months, the states have been pressing the federal government for clarity on the financing of the planned new edition of the multi-billion-euro funding program. The KMK is demanding that the federal government provide at least 1.3 billion euros annually from 2025 to finance and further develop the digital infrastructure.
In the first digital pact, which expired in May, the federal government financed 90 percent of the costs for digitization in schools, such as laptops and digital boards. The remaining ten percent were borne by states and municipalities. In the future, the federal government wants 50/50 financing. That would be too much for the states, said Streichert-Clivot.
“We would be very keen to have a reliable result by the new year, i.e. January 2025, that we can start with,” said the KMK President. “I believe that the federal government cannot afford to withdraw from this program.” Digitalization reflects the “entire reality of life for all people” and must endure in the states.
No all-clear yet
“That’s why I’m still confident.” However, previous discussions and correspondence with Federal Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) have not led “to us being able to give the all-clear from the state side with regard to the financial situation of the Digital Pact 2.0,” said Streichert-Clivot.
The uncertainty about how the financing will continue is leading to delays in important decisions in the states. “I believe there is no more sustainable program that is able to strengthen existing structures that exist in the states,” said the minister. The federal government has contributed 6.5 billion euros to the first digital pact since 2019.
Source: Stern
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