With its decision, the cabinet wants to strengthen the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. The planned "flexibilisation of the timetable" means a fundamental reduction in artistic and creative subjects for all children in Bavaria, with far-reaching consequences:
- Music and art classes play a central role in the development of primary school children. Children learn key social skills, emotional expression and creative expression through music and art. Cognitive skills are comprehensively trained through art and music: Positive effects on language development have been demonstrated, as have effects on mathematical skills. Both subjects - music and art - contribute significantly to the holistic education of children, which is explicitly called for in the planned "PISA Offensive Bavaria". Creative work fosters curiosity, innovation and flexibility - future skills that are urgently needed in a world that is difficult to predict.
- Art and music are an important lever for inclusion and integration work. The PISA 2022 study shows that schools are not responding sufficiently to highly heterogeneous classes. Music and art promote intercultural exchange and understanding, not only among children and young people. If we want a vibrant society and an active democracy, music and the arts need to be firmly established in the curriculum to the same extent as they are now.
- If music and arts education in primary schools is reduced as planned, children will leave primary schools with very heterogeneous levels of knowledge and skills. This also threatens the promotion of young talent in amateur culture in Bavaria - from children's choirs to youth brass bands. This will have a particularly severe impact on rural areas, where the cultural infrastructure is more decentralised than in urban centres. Such plans jeopardise Bavaria's status as a "cultural state"
Bavaria's Art Colleges are calling for the Bavarian cabinet's decision to be revised in dialogue with Bavarian educational institutions and cultural associations, and for art and music education to be given a priority place in the curriculum, especially in primary schools, because of their importance for society as a whole.
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