Ministry of Education and Daycare Facilities for Children

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the State of Mecklenburg-VorpommernShow details
The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

It is the task of the Ministry of Education and Daycare Facilities for Children to create favourable conditions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for good education for all children and adolescents of up to 18 years and for the acquisition of knowledge and life-longing learning. Together with parents, school pupils, childcare and daycare workers and teachers, the Ministry makes every effort to make day care facilities and schools into places with the best support and caring learning, education and mentoring. Good teaching and the best possible support are the main focus.

Children and adolescents should receive individual support and education and friendly mentoring starting in their early years. The Ministry continuously pursues this aim and in collaboration with all those involved. These include adequately trained professionals and also framework conditions which support childcare and daycare workers and teachers in their everyday professional life on the one hand and allow the protected mentoring of children on the other.

The transition from kindergarten to being a school pupil is not only exciting for the smallest children but also brings new challenges for parents. It is important to employ adequately qualified teaching staff and schools in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern so that parents and children are ideally supported in this important life phase. For this reason, the Ministry wishes to train, recruit and retain more teachers for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and also continuously enhance their qualifications. The Institute for Quality Development and the Competence Centre for Vocational Education are directly attached to the Ministry and are responsible for both the content design of probationary teacher training and the advanced and ongoing training of teachers at general and vocational schools.

As the supreme school supervisory body, the Ministry is responsible for around 500 general and vocational state schools in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Four State education authorities subordinate to the Ministry exercise academic supervision over teaching and administrative supervision of teaching staff. The State education authorities are located in Greifswald, Neubrandenburg, Rostock and Schwerin.

The aims and content of lessons at general and vocational schools are set out in framework plans. The work of the framework plan committees in which experienced teachers are involved is co-ordinated by the Ministry. Approximately 150 framework plans are revised step by step and aligned with current developments. All pupils should be given equal opportunities and comprehensively and individually supported so that they achieve the highest possible secondary level qualification which corresponds to their inherent potential. The school system in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is permeable and in two tiers so that it is possible to swap between courses of study. Written examination tasks for secondary levels I and II are compiled and prescribed centrally in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

One of the Ministry’s further responsibilities is to support school authorities financially with school building and improving digital facilities. In its digitalisation strategy, the Ministry is focussing on an integrated concept. Not just more notebooks, tablets, smartboards or digital platforms need to be established in classrooms; the promotion of competence in joined-up thinking and problem-oriented learning is just as important.

Besides this, Ministry staff are the first contacts for all who wish to have their foreign educational, teaching and professional qualifications as teachers recognised in Germany.

Schools are supported by the Central Faculty for Diagnostics and School Psychology (ZDS). This is divided into the faculties of School Psychology and Special Education (Diagnostics). The task of the ZDS is to advise and support in psychological and diagnostic matters. For this, the ZDS collaborates in particular with the child and youth welfare services, with public health institutions and with hospitals and socio-paediatric centres.

The Ministry of Education and Daycare Facilities for Children has its registered office in the historic Marstall building directly next to Lake Schwerin. This ensemble was built around 180 years ago by the Duke of Mecklenburg. This building once served to accommodate his horses and carriages.

Contact

Address
Ministerium für Bildung und Kindertagesförderung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Werderstraße 124
19055 Schwerin
Germany
Press spokesman
Henning Lipski
Telephone: +49 (0)385 - 588 17003