NRW Reallocates Teachers Amid Gymnasium Program Shift and Staff Shortages

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is implementing a new strategy to manage its teaching staff as the state fully transitions back to the nine-year Gymnasium (G9) program. This shift, completed for the upcoming 2026/27 school year, involves teachers who were temporarily assigned to other school types to bridge gaps during the G9 transition now returning to their original Gymnasium positions.

To mitigate the resulting shortages in other schools, the NRW Ministry of Education is utilizing a pre-existing pool designed to compensate for teaching absences. This resource will be strategically deployed to support schools facing significant challenges, particularly those with high social needs. The ministry plans to reallocate a portion of the 4,250 positions within this pool, aiming to provide targeted assistance.

Under the new model, a limited number of teachers can be hired for up to two years at particularly understaffed schools. Following this period, they will transition back to their permanent Gymnasium assignments. Initially, up to 300 teaching positions will be redistributed through this method, with the number expected to increase to 600 by the 2027/28 school year. NRW School Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) acknowledged that this measure will not fully compensate for all the departing teachers but stressed its importance in improving the educational situation at difficult-to-staff schools.

Despite these efforts, thousands of teaching positions remain unfilled across NRW. While the state reports a record number of over 166,000 teaching staff, the demand has also increased. As of June 1, 2026, 4,822 permanent teaching positions were vacant statewide, with an additional 2,950 temporary positions open due to parental leave or other absences. The ministry's reallocation plan aims to address the most critical gaps, but the overall challenge of teacher shortages persists.