Digitalization of schools is progressing slowly

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One year after the Digital Pact for Schools was adopted, there are still problems with its implementation. So far, only twelve federal states have approved funding applications. This is still pending in Hesse, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein. This was the result of a Bitkom survey of the states' ministries of culture and education.

"The Digital Pact for Schools can and must be a milestone for digital education, but we are making far too slow progress with its implementation," says Bitkom President Achim Berg. With the Digital Pact for Schools, the federal government is providing 5 billion euros for the digitalization of schools. The amount of funding approved varies considerably from state to state.

By far the largest sum goes to Hamburg, where europe gambling data funding applications from schools totaling 116.1 million euros were approved. This is followed by Saxony (15.2 million euros), Bavaria (9.0 million euros), Baden-Württemberg (3.8 million euros), Thuringia (3.1 million euros), Berlin (2.1 million euros) and Bremen (1.5 million euros).

The other federal states did not provide any information on the amount of funding they had used. "The federal states have only used a fraction of the five billion euros. We cannot afford to lose any more time; the money must reach the schools immediately - across the board and in full," says Berg.

It is also necessary to support schools and school authorities in developing digitization concepts so that the money is used sensibly and sustainably. "The current Corona crisis shows how much digital technologies can help to keep schools, authorities and companies running even in extraordinary situations. The vast majority of German schools are not among the pioneers, but among the laggards when it comes to digital education, and we must change that as quickly as possible."