Hamburg welcomes 620 new teachers: success or impending crisis?

Hamburg welcomes 620 new teachers: success or impending crisis?

The new school year started in Hamburg's schools on September 4, 2025, and Education Senator Ksenija Bekeris welcomed 620 new teachers with a celebratory reception in the town hall. This number represents an increase of 80 teachers compared to the previous year and brings the total number of new hires this year to 944. This includes 324 teachers who were hired in February. Hamburg.de reports that the average age of new teachers is 32.8 years, which has decreased by 0.73 years. While more than 73 percent of these new teachers are women, the numbers also show considerable diversity in the age groups: the youngest is 25 years old, the oldest is an impressive 61 years old.

The distribution of new teachers is varied and ranges from 234 at district schools to 194 at primary schools, 141 at high schools, 30 at special schools and 21 at vocational schools. The distribution of subjects is particularly noteworthy: 207 teach German, 131 teach English and 108 teach mathematics. Despite this positive development, there is still a need to catch up: bottlenecks continue to exist, particularly in the MINT subjects (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology) as well as in creative areas such as music and theater.

Teacher shortages and challenges

Despite the new settings, the situation remains tense. According to an analysis by GEW Hamburg, which, among other things, deals with the shortage of teachers, 58 positions remain unfilled, mainly at primary and special schools. This situation leads to a noticeable decline in the quality of teaching, as students are often confronted with lesson cancellations or substitutions from outside the subject, especially in the new compulsory subject of computer science. gew-hamburg.de highlights that this situation also indicates a significant overload of existing teachers, which can have a negative impact on health and the quality of education.

The deputy chairwoman of GEW Hamburg, Yvonne Heimbüchel, underlined this and called for the urgency of clear working time regulations and appropriate conditions. This is supported by incidents in a GEW survey that revealed the stress levels of educators, social workers and therapists. Bodo Haß, deputy chairman of the GEW, calls for measures to sustainably improve both the working conditions and the quality of teaching. GEW chairman Sven Quiring adds that structural relief is a basic requirement for ensuring teaching quality.

In addition to the 620 new teachers who were hired at the start of school, 448 additional teachers are starting preparatory service. The city of Hamburg intends to further intensify recruitment in order to respond to the increasing demands in the coming school year and to ensure the qualifications of teachers. It remains to be seen whether the measures will be successful and the urgently needed relief will be provided in schools.