Josef Kraus: Alarm bells ring for Germany's education system!

Josef Kraus: Alarm bells ring for Germany's education system!

Uckermark, Deutschland - Last weekend there was a significant community evening in Malchow, where the former president of the German Teachers' Association, Josef Kraus, was a guest. In his passionate speech, he expressed his deep concern about decay and decline in Germany and warned of a serious endangerment of Western culture. Kraus, who resigned in May 2025, drew a dark balance in his new book "In the Rausch of Decadence. The West am Scheidweg" and identified 26 symptoms of the expiry of society.

A central concern of his lecture was the alarming situation of children and families. Topics such as poverty in children, the splitting of the family and a predominant mental employment were the focus. According to Kraus, the consumerality, coupled with veteran and the search for replacement religions, is a sign that there is a lot in the ARGE. "We are not allowed to simply ignore developments in politics, media and education," the former teacher vehemently demanded, while he urged the audience for their attention. [Nordkurier] reports that he demanded an urgent culture of listening and looking, especially in the current debate about gender issues in the media.

The education system under fire

Josef Kraus not only warns of social grievances, but also makes serious accusations against the German education system. "We broke our education system ourselves," said his urgent appeal. In particular, he criticized the so -called "figal education", which he identified as one of the causes of the falling level of education. "Curricables become empty plans," he stated and illuminated that the high school grades have increased, but this is not necessarily due to better performance by the students. In many cases, the exams have become less demanding. [fris.de] emphasizes that Kraus also sees the high proportion of migration in schools as an additional challenge that overwhelm the existing system.

One of his central demands refers to the early introduction of language status tests before schooling and the formation of language learning classes for children with a need for support. With regard to digitization, Kraus expressed concerns that it benefits the IT industry in particular, while students grow into a generation with “zoom experience”. He advocates introducing digital media in schools only from the 8th or 9th grade and sees the role of the family in education as essential to meet the current challenges.

a change in the educational debate

Kraus, who has largely intervened in German education policy for over 30 years as President of the Teachers' Association, is now planning to found a foundation for education policy after the Bundestag election. In the past, he has always dealt critically with the topics of German education policy and is considered a striking figure in the debate. His successor, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, will probably try to wander the association wider and to promote cooperation with various political directions. [Süddeutsche] emphasizes that in his more than 100 annual lectures, Kraus tirelessly denounces the shortcomings of the school system and calls on to increase the claims in the education system again.

The challenges are not to be underestimated, and it seems as if Josef Kraus ’review of the past few years has been more than just a personal consideration; It is an urgent appeal to everyone involved to reorganize the course for a positive development of the education system in Germany.