School Shortage in Gera Overcome, Ministry Says

Every school-age child in Gera has now been assigned a school place, according to Thuringia’s education ministry, after the city experienced waiting lists in recent years. A ministry spokeswoman told the German Press Agency that the allocations had been made by the beginning of September, although letters to students and parents could take several more days.

The ministry said the structural problem had been resolved. Gera faced an unusual rise in student numbers compared with other parts of Thuringia. The city had about 13,100 students in the 2021-22 school year. By 2025-26, that figure had climbed to almost 14,500.

The increase was partly linked to people arriving from Germany and abroad, including many refugees who had sought safety in Gera before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By comparison, student numbers in other districts changed little. Hildburghausen remained at roughly 6,300 to 6,400 students during the same period, while the Unstrut-Hainich district ranged from about 12,800 to 13,000.

At the height of the shortage, the city faced serious challenges involving around 90 to 100 school places, the spokeswoman said. Regular schools in particular could not always provide immediate places. They had to accommodate newly arrived children from Germany and abroad, as well as students transferring from academic secondary schools.

To meet compulsory-schooling requirements and place as many children as possible, authorities temporarily increased class sizes and established another school section. In individual cases, children and teenagers were assigned to schools in surrounding municipalities. The ministry presented those measures as the steps that allowed Gera to overcome the shortage.

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At peak times, we faced major challenges involving around 90 to 100 places.