Return of nine-year secondary school in Bavaria

Bavaria will soon be returning to nine-years of secondary school.

Following mounting criticism of the policy for completing Abitur (secondary leaving certificate that enables university application) in eight years, a referendum has demanded a return to G9 (nine years of secondary school). The main points of criticism included: afternoon lessons from year 6 onwards and pupils’ overcrowded timetables. The CSU had defiantly defended the G8 for a considerable time. In the 2011 Abitur, which marked the last year of the old G9 and simultaneously the first year of the G8, pupils who had completed secondary school in eight years obtained slightly better results on average than those who had taken nine years. However, twice as many candidates from the G8 year failed as from the G9.
Fourteen years after its introduction the G8 will now be withdrawn. At the end of 2017 the CSU performed a U-turn and voted in the state parliament to reintroduce the nine-year Abitur in Bavaria. The changeover will take place in 2025.

Finishing school in eight years will remain a possibility; a ‘fast track’ programme provides the opportunity for pupils to complete their Abitur in eight years. In this case pupils leapfrog year eleven. Those that will skip a year are given extra classes in the afternoons to prepare them. The programme is voluntary and open to all pupils.

Editorial staff (alb)

Sources:

Information source: mittelbayerische.de 03.07.18
Image source: picture from hannahalkadi / CC0 1.0