80 new study places for primary school teaching in Aachen - educational offensive is running!

80 new study places for primary school teaching in Aachen - educational offensive is running!

On March 13, 2025, an important step was carried out to strengthen teacher training in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). As part of the study position II, the RWTH Aachen and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal together have created 80 new study places for the elementary school teaching office. This initiative is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Science with 300,000 euros. Minister Ina Brandes signed the corresponding special university contract in order to meet the increasing demand for teachers in the Aachen region.

The need for additional study places has increased significantly in recent years. Since 2023, the state government has been actively promoting the universities to create more study places for teaching courses. Since then, a total of 465 new bachelor's degree places have been implemented in the fields of primary school teaching and special education support. With the newly created 80 places, the total number increases to 535 additional study places.

extensive study position offensive

The state government's study position offensive aims to create over 1000 additional study places in various fields of education. In addition to the primary school teaching office, this also includes study places in special education, nursing education and social pedagogy. From the winter semester 2020/2021, a total of 300 study places were set up for the primary school teaching office. There are currently 90 places available in the field of social pedagogy, while 250 out of 500 planned study places have already been provided in special education.

The state government is investing around 115 million euros in the expansion of the study place capacities by 2025. Since 2018, around 700 new places have been created especially for the primary school teaching office. From the winter semester 2020/2021, 2530 new students will be enrolled in the primary school teaching office at the universities in NRW, which is a significant increase in educational offers.

diverse range of courses in NRW

The teaching degree in North Rhine-Westphalia is offered at a large number of universities, including eleven universities and specialized art and music schools. The RWTH Aachen and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal are only two of a total of numerous universities that support students in this important training direction.

The organization of the course offer can vary depending on the university. Not all universities offer courses for all teaching positions or subjects. The Central Student Advice and the Center for Teacher Education at the respective university are available for detailed information. The start of the course is usually possible in the winter semester (October) or summer semester (April), whereby the start of the winter semester is recommended for many courses.

Overall, this initiative shows the state government's commitment to strengthen the training of teachers in NRW and to meet the needs of the regions. The increasing number of students illustrate the need for further measures for the future educational landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia.

For further information on the current developments in the training in NRW, you can report the reports of mkw.nrw and see.