Today, the key points for the joint degree course in secondary school teaching with special needs education at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and Leipzig University were signed.
The Free State of Saxony is responding to the shortage of teachers in Upper Lusatia with a new, innovative course of study. Specifically, a joint degree course in "Teaching at Secondary Schools with Special Needs Education" is to be set up by Leipzig University and Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences sites by the winter semester 2025/26.
Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow, Minister of Culture Christian Piwarz, the Vice-Rector for Talent Development at Leipzig University Prof. Dr. Roger Gläser and the Rector of Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Alexander Kratzsch signed a key points paper on site, in which the framework for the establishment and implementation of the planned joint course of study between the two universities is agreed.
By the winter semester 2025/26, all preparations for the establishment of the joint degree course will have been made, such as the design of the curricula and the creation of further legal requirements. The Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Culture are in regular contact with both universities and are supporting the development of the new course.
"Teacher training in Saxony has developed very well in recent years, also thanks to the intensive efforts of the teacher training universities. The number of first-year teachers has risen overall, although the beruichen career opportunities for young people have never been as diverse as they are now. Nevertheless, we need to make adjustments to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of young teachers available in all regions of Saxony and in all types of schools in the future. Thanks to the unique cooperation between Leipzig University and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, we are bringing the undergraduate teacher training program to eastern Saxony and thus to one of the regions where the demand for teachers in secondary schools and special schools is particularly high."
"We are increasingly successful in filling vacant teaching positions at elementary school. This is more difficult at secondary schools and special schools, especially in eastern Saxony. This is precisely where the joint project between Leipzig University and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences comes in. The planned new course of study will interlink the teaching profession at secondary schools with the supplementary subject of special educational focus on learning. This will bring teacher training further into rural areas and we will create an attractive range of courses in the field of secondary schools and special educational needs in order to attract more applicants to the teaching profession in the future. The course will become more attractive, more permeable and more regional."
The Rector of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Alexander Kratzsch, is visibly proud and grateful for the achievement of this major milestone:
