According to the School in Need initiative and trade unions, the state government must ensure more consistently that the cleaning of Berlin schools comes back into municipal hands as planned. “The alliance demands that the appropriate steps be taken now,” said Anne Zetsche from Schule in Not on Wednesday in Berlin.

The coalition agreement stipulates that the districts will gradually be responsible for cleaning the schools again from 2023. The districts should therefore hire the cleaning staff themselves. So far, this has been done by private companies. School cleaning is an ongoing topic in Berlin. The Alliance for Clean Schools has long been demanding that districts take responsibility for cleaning schools again.

[If you want to have all the latest news live on your mobile phone, we recommend our app, which you can download here for Apple and Android devices.]

But the concepts from the districts and the state government were still missing, said Zetsche. So far, only three districts – Pankow, Neukölln and Tempelhof-Schöneberg – have reported wanting to switch to self-cleaning in a model project. “We see the problem – if this is not quickly underpinned with concepts – that 2023 is sporty,” emphasized Zetsche.