Thousands of teachers hired in Germany to teach influx of child refugees

In order to help the 196,000 child refugees who entered the German school system this year learn the language and catch up with their peers, Germany recruited 8,500 new teachers.

"Schools and education administrations have never been confronted with such a challenge," Brunhild Kurth, the head of Germany's education authority, told Die Welt. "We must accept that this exceptional situation will become the norm for a long time to come." Germany estimates that by the end of the year more than 1 million refugees fleeing war and poverty will have entered the country, including 325,000 school-aged children, Agence France-Presse reports. The head of the DPhV teachers' union said 20,000 more teachers are needed to educate the influx of students. "By next summer, at the latest, we will feel that gap," Heinz-Peter Meidinger said.

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