Key takeaways

• You cannot generalize that private or public schools are better in Germany. It depends on the school and your preferences.
• The number of private schools has doubled since 1992 in Germany.
• Children from families with higher social status attend private schools.
• Around 90% of the students attend public schools in Germany.

This is how you do it

• Compare the schools in your area before deciding.
• Never assume that private schools are better than public ones.
• Go to open days offered by the schools to check out the school’s infrastructure and clarify your doubts.

Table of Contents

We all want to provide our children with the best education. When you are searching for the best schools in Germany, you may wonder which are better: public or private.

Every country has its own education system. In many countries, private schools are considered better than public schools. What about Germany?

Are private schools in Germany really better than the public schools? You’ll find out in this guide.

What is a private school (Privatschule) in Germany?

Private schools are run by private organizations for profit. They must receive state approval and meet all the required requirements.

Unlike public schools, private schools are funded by tuition fees. You can find private primary and secondary schools in Germany.

Moreover, the percentage of private schools in Germany has doubled since 1992 [1].

Article 7 of the German Basic Law guarantees the right to establish private schools. However, it explicitly states that private schools “should not promote segregation of students based on their parents’ ownership status.”

What is a public school (Staatlicheschule) in Germany?

The state funds public schools (Staatlicheschule) in Germany. The education is free for all in a public school in Germany.

More than 90% of students in Germany attended public schools in 2022. And the rest, i.e., 9.2% of students attended private school [2].

However, essential to note is that the popularity of private schools is increasing every year.

Private vs Public schools in Germany

First, we’ll objectively examine the differences between private and public schools in Germany. Later, we’ll discuss how to interpret them.

Parameter	Private School (Privatschule)	Public School (Staatlicheschule)
Funded by	Tuition fees and donations	State
Tuition fee	Ranges from 80 – 800 € per month	No tuition fee
Infrastructure	Usually offers better infrastructure	Depends on the school. Many public schools offer similar or better infrastructure than the private schools.
Class size	Smaller class size	Bigger class size
Number of missed or canceled classes	Usually, there are fewer canceled classes. However, there are no sources or data to confirm it.	–
Teachers salary	Similar or lower than the teachers in the public schools.	Teachers employed as civil servants earn more net salary due to fewer social security contributions. [3]
Percentage of students	9.2% of students attended private school in 2022 [2].	90.8% of students attended public school in 2022 [2].

Class size

The biggest advantage of private schools is the smaller class sizes. Even if the teachers earn less in a private school, they must manage fewer kids.

This allows better communication and relations between the teacher and the students. The teacher can spend more time per student in a private school than in a public one.

Students from economically well families attend private schools

The environment where your child grows has a huge impact on their personality and future. As private schools charge tuition fees, children of well-off families attend them.

The parents of these children usually have high ambitions for their kids’ education. They even put effort into supporting their child’s learning.

It creates a better learning environment. Moreover, this makes it easier for teachers to handle students in private schools than in public ones.

German language

Usually, children from families that speak German at home attend the private school. On the other hand, the number of children who have difficulty understanding German has increased in public schools.

This makes it tough for public school teachers to teach the curriculum. They have to strike a balance between all types of students.

As a result, the kids who can understand German well are pulled back by those who can’t. This leads German-speaking families to send their kids to private schools.

The German language is one of the deciding factors in which secondary school your child will go to. So, parents who wish their kids to enter the Gymnasium must pay close attention to their kids’ German skills.

Are private schools better than public schools in Germany?

You cannot generalize which school is better, public or private. It depends on the schools in comparison and your preferences.

Moreover, recent research shows that the quality of education in both public and private schools is the same.

Yes, the performance of the students in private schools is better than that of public schools. But it’s because the students from families that focus on the child’s education go there.

When the researchers compared students from similar family backgrounds, the children’s performance in public and private schools was the same. 

In the end, you must learn about the schools before deciding. Moreover, your child should feel comfortable with the school you pick.

How can you learn more about a school in your area?

• Talk to other parents in your area. What are their experiences with the school?
• Every school has an open day where they show you around the school. Attend these open days to compare the schools.
• Check the facilities available in the school. 
• Make a list of things important to you and your child. See which school checks the most.
• Talk to the school teachers to get an impression.

Data on private and public schools in Germany

• Increase in private schools in Germany: Doubled since 1992 [1]
• The trend in the number of children attending private schools in Germany: Increasing steadily since 2002. In 2022, 9.2% of students attended private schools. [2]
• Percentage of kids from families where at least one parent is from outside Germany attending [4]
  • Public primary school: 38.1% 
  • Private primary schools: 28.3%
  • Public secondary schools other than the gymnasium: 30%
  • Private secondary schools other than the gymnasium: 19%
  • Public secondary schools (Gymnasium): 24.2%
  • Private secondary schools (Gymnasium): 17.7%

References

• https://atlantis-schulsoftware.de/privatschulen-staatliche-schulen
• https://www.bpb.de/themen/bildung/dossier-bildung/522257/privatschulen-sind-besser-als-oeffentliche-schulen-stimmt-s/
• https://www.spiegel.de/lebenundlernen/schule/privatschulen-sind-sie-besser-oder-schlechter-als-oeffentliche-schulen-a-1198197.html
• https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/schule/sind-privatschulen-wirklich-besser-4138207.html
• https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bildung-Forschung-Kultur/Schulen/_inhalt.htm
• https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2023/10/PD23_N054_21.html
• https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/lehrermangel-gewerkschafterin-ueber-privatschulen-die-konditionen-beim-staat-sind-einfach-besser/24040110.html