Germany is desperately looking for teachers. And many migrants and refugees were once teachers in their home country. A program in Cologne — and four other cities — is hoping to create a win-win situation.
Lehrkräfte PLUS graduates in 2025Image: privat
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If Germany could choose a well-trained teacher from abroad, it would probably be someone like Inge Pizarro Krause. With her eight years of study and two years of classroom experience in Viña del Mar, the 33-year-old from Chile is highly qualified and is now preparing to tackle Germany's desperate teacher shortage. Pizarro Krause has been studying German, didactics and pedagogy under the special program since August. And she has already had a taste of teaching at a vocational school.
"When I came to Germany, I felt like I had to start from scratch again, which is, of course, very frustrating," she told DW. "You have studied, you have worked as a teacher, you want to get started again straight away and you are desperately looking for a program that will somehow introduce you to the German education system. Lehrkräfte PLUS was exactly what I needed."
In just twelve months, Pizarro Krause and the other 23 participants from Bosnia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine will be given fast-track training and plenty of practical experience to prepare them for teaching in German schools. The Lehrkräfte PLUS program is on offer at four other universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the state's attempt to respond to Germany's teacher shortage, which is becoming more and more widespread.
Inge Pizarro Krause studied for eight years to become a teacher in Chile and taught there for two yearsImage: Oliver Pieper/DW
There is a shortage of tens of thousands of teachers nationwide — and numbers are rising. At the same time, immigrants with many years of professional experience as teachers are often forced to get by with temporary jobs. "You ask yourself the sense of it: Germany urgently needs teachers, yet the bureaucratic hurdles we face are enormous. The country should work on a system to speed up integration, " says Pizarro Krause.
Germany cannot afford to neglect potential
That requires dedicated people like Semra Krieg and Ariane Elshof, who helped launch the qualification program in Cologne in 2018 and have been constantly developing it ever since. Even back then, the spirit was: "We can do it." Just like the former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who used these words to encourage the German population to take up the challenge of integrating refugees, Elshof recalls.
"In the early days, we had a lot of very qualified teachers from Turkey and Syria, but now most of them come from Ukraine. But we also receive applications from Brazil and even Tanzania. Given the shortage of teachers, Germany cannot afford to neglect such potential. They are teachers through and through; they put their heart and soul into it."
A study by the University of Potsdam recently took a closer look at the Lehrkräfte PLUS program. Its findings: the teachers feel much more confident about their future tasks, speak German much better and are very motivated to work as teachers in Germany in the long term. And, above all, the vast majority would recommend the qualification to other migrants.
The ABC's of the German public school system
Germany has a complex public school system that varies from state to state and city to city. Moving on to a secondary school can be a particularly complicated endeavor. View the gallery to get the scoop on schools.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F. Kästle
From toddler to teenager
Children in Germany can attend kindergarten for years, until they turn 6. School attendance is then compulsory (Schulpflicht) from ages 6 to 15, or from grades 1 through 9 or 10, regardless of the type of school. That places a ban on homeschooling, except in rare cases, such as severe illness.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Karmann
Primary school
Kids kick off their first day of school with a special cone of sweets, and then things get a bit more serious. Matters of public education are regulated by each of the 16 German states, not the federal government. In most states, children attend primary school for only four years. In Berlin, they generally attend six years before moving on to the "weiterführende Schule," or secondary school.
Image: imago/Kickner
Teacher's recommendation
Before moving on to secondary school, children receive a recommendation from their primary school teacher about which type of school could be appropriate. The recommendation states if a child is considered fit for Gymnasium, or rather another type of school. Currently, in North Rhine-Westphalia, parents may override that recommendation and choose a different school.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER/R. Hottas
Gymnasium
An academically-oriented type of secondary school, it prepares kids to enter university. To do so, they first have to complete their Hochschulreife (higher education entrance qualification, or A-levels) or Abitur diploma after grade 12 or 13. The curriculum includes everything from math and sciences, to languages, art and music, social studies, philosophy and sports.
Image: picture alliance/BeyondFoto
Realschule
Students at the Realschule (grades 5-10 in most states) take most of the same classes as at Gymnasium, but with varying foreign language requirements, among other things. The Realschule often aims to prepare students for attending a technical or business school. Pupils who do well may choose to work toward their Abitur, but must then switch to a Gymnasium or Gesamtschule.
Image: picture-alliance/W. Bahnmüller
Hauptschule
The Hauptschule teaches most of the same subjects as the other high schools, but at a slower pace. It offers vocational-oriented courses, with the goal of enrollment in a trade school and apprenticeship training. After graduation, good students can work toward a Realschule diploma or qualify to attend a Gesamtschule or Gymnasium to receive their Abitur.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Baumgarten
Gesamtschule
The 1960s and 70s saw the boom of the Gesamtschule, an alternative to the three-tiered system. Comprehensive and heterogeneous in nature, it integrates the Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule tracks into one school. Students can go the academic route, working toward their Abitur in grade 13. Or they can opt for the vocational vein, graduating after 9th or 10th grade to attend a trade school.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER/u. umstätter
Increased popularity
In recent years, Gesamtschulen have experienced even more popularity, with bigger cities in particular lacking spots for those who apply. In 2018, the city of Cologne (pop. around one million) had to turn down some 1,000 students who wanted to attend a Gesamtschule. The appeal could be due to longer school days as well as the comprehensive learning possibilities.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/M. Begsteiger
Switching tracks
Students may need to switch tracks. If a student struggles during a two-year "trial period" of 5th and 6th grade at a Gymnasium, teachers may recommend transferring to a Realschule or Hauptschule. Entering a comprehensive Gesamtschule is often difficult at that point because spots are scarce. High achievers at other schools may be able to transfer to a Gymnasium if they fulfill requirements.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Different states, different names and models
Some states do not have a multi-tiered system, but a two-tiered one, like Saxony. Following four years of grade school, students attend either the Oberschule (which combines the Haupt- and Realschulen) or Gymnasium. In Bavaria, secondary students go to a Mittelschule, Realschule or Gymnasium. Some states offer the comprehensive Gemeinschaftsschule, a variation of the Gesamtschule.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER
Vocational schools
Following Hauptschule or Realschule, Berufsschulen (vocational schools) mix academic study with hands-on learning through apprenticeship. Successful completion leads to certification in a special trade or field. These schools often cooperate with companies and trade unions to offer students training.
Children with special needs may attend either a Förderschule or a Sonderschule to learn in a setting geared to their needs. But critics say this sets them apart from the mainstream. Some primary and secondary schools integrate kids with special needs into classes for "shared" or inclusive learning.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Wüstneck
School days vary
School days differ markedly in length, with lessons sometimes ending at 12 or 1 p.m. or at 3 or 4 p.m. on other days, making it tough on working parents, especially single parents, to be at home for their kids after school. Some schools offer all-day programs where kids can stay after lessons and do their homework or participate in activities.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Vennenbernd
Finding the right fit
Germany has a range of private schools, including Waldorf, Montessori, international, denominational and boarding schools, but the vast majority of kids attend public schools.
On average, fewer than one person per year has dropped out of the program, Krieg told DW. She already has another 50 applications piled up on her desk for the next intake in August 2026, and the application deadline is on January 8, 2026. And yet, despite being a success story, funding for the program is only secured until the end of 2027. The Germany-wide pioneering project "Refugee Teachers Program," which was launched by the University of Potsdam in 2016, has now ended.
"We've had a lot of positive feedback that Lehrkräfte PLUS is like a springboard. At the same time, it is a challenge for the participants. In a full-time, year-long program, you can be pushed to your limits. Language proficiency is an important factor in getting established in school. In addition, openness, perseverance and tenacity are also crucial, " says Semra Krieg.
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How a teacher from Ukraine made the leap
Natalia Zemlianskaia was tenacious and resilient enough. The Ukrainian took part in the program two years ago, completing an internship at a vocational school in Bonn at the same time, and was subsequently taken on directly by the school. Having taught English in Odesa for more than 20 years, she now teaches the language in her new home and also teaches German to young people from Guinea, Syria and Turkey.
"When I arrived here in 2022, I knew that I definitely wanted to continue working as a teacher. I initially completed a lot of German courses and then came across Lehrkräfte PLUS by chance. The best thing about the program: the German courses and the internship, in which you are thrown in at the deep end even if your German isn't perfect yet."
Semra Krieg and Ariane Elshof helped launch the qualification program in Cologne in 2018 and have been constantly developing it ever sinceImage: privat
Germany needs more programs of this kind, not fewer
So what does it take for a teacher from abroad to get to grips with everyday school life in Germany? The 47-year-old doesn't have to think twice: proactively soak up everything at the new school to understand what makes it tick, especially the students. Have mentors and colleagues who accept you, support you and, if necessary, are there to listen in an emergency. And set up more programs like Lehrkräfte PLUS, not just in a few cities, and advertise them much more.
"Every teacher from abroad should know that this qualification is available. And there need to be more places offering it. On my course back then, there was even a participant from Bremen who was commuting. Some stayed in a hotel for the week."
Zemlianskaia's appeal to German politicians? To integrate such skilled workers into the German education system more quickly! "They should recognize degrees from abroad more easily. I'm not a beginner, I'm an experienced teacher."
This article was originally written in German.
Ukrainian teacher continues her classes online
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