Around 1200 teachers made civil servants last year

Berlin still has some way to go when it comes to making teachers civil servants. Last year, a good 1200 teachers were made civil servants, as the Senate Department for Education told the German Press Agency in response to an inquiry.

Of the 16,000 or so teachers at Berlin schools who are eligible for this from the point of view of the education administration, more than 10,000 have so far applied to become civil servants.

More resources for processing civil servant applications

An exact forecast for 2024 is not possible. "In any case, the process will be accelerated compared to 2023, as the structures for the civil service are now in place and procedures have been implemented." There have also been additional posts in the personnel department, so that there is more capacity for processing.

Temporary increase in the age limit for becoming a civil servant

In view of the considerable shortage of specialist staff in schools, Berlin reintroduced the civil service status for teachers in 2022 after an 18-year interruption. It was already standard in all other federal states. The path to this was opened up not only to newly qualified teachers, but also to employed teachers who are already in service. The age limit for becoming a civil servant was temporarily raised from 45 to 52. According to the education administration, older teachers will continue to be made civil servants first so that the process is completed before the specified age limit is reached. "Organizationally, civil service appointments take place once a month in each Berlin district, which are carried out by the regional school inspectorate in the field offices," according to the education administration.

Compensation for disadvantages for teachers who will not be made civil servants

Since September 2023, around 5,000 teachers who could not be made civil servants due to exceeding the age limit have received so-called compensation for disadvantages retroactively to February 1, 2023. "In the vast majority of cases, this is 300 euros", according to the education administration. In addition, around 2,000 teachers who waived their civil servant status and applied for the disadvantage compensation by the end of September will also receive it retroactively to the beginning of February 2023.

Around 35,460 teachers at Berlin schools

By raising the age limit, the state of Berlin is offering a large group of teachers the opportunity to become civil servants. Compensation for disadvantages in the form of an official allowance is otherwise only paid in the federal state of Saxony. "Berlin is therefore doing a lot to make the teaching profession attractive and to be able to compete nationwide." At the end of 2023, there were around 35,460 teachers in Berlin's schools. Of these, a good 9400 were permanent civil servants and around 1730 were probationary civil servants.