Responsibilities of the Federal Government

Where the Federation has responsibility for early childhood education and care in day-care centres and in child-minding services, this responsibility lies with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend – BMFSFJ).

Where the Federation has responsibility for education, science and research, within the Federal Government this responsibility lies primarily with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF).

Wherever necessary, consultations between Federation and Länder take place in the Bundesrat, the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz – GWK) and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is organised in one Central Directorate-General and seven further Directorates-General:

• Directorate-General 1: Policy Issues and Strategies; Coordination
• Directorate-General 2: European and International Cooperation in Education and Research
• Directorate-General 3: General Education and Vocational Training; Lifelong Learning
• Directorate-General 4: Higher Education and Research System
• Directorate-General 5: Research for Technological Sovereignty and Innovation
• Directorate-General 6: Life Sciences
• Directorate-General 7: Provision for the Future – Basic Research and Research for Sustainable Development

For current information on the direction of the Ministry, see the website.

The purview of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research embraces the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung – BIBB). It is a major instrument for cooperation between employers, trade unions, Federation and Länder at the national level. The Vocational Training Act (Berufsbildungsgesetz - BBiG) defines the institute's responsibilities inter alia as follows:

• to carry out vocational training research on the basis of an annual research programme (Jahresforschungsprogramm);
• in accordance with the instructions of the competent federal ministry, to take part in the drafting of Ausbildungsordnungen (training regulations) and other statutory instruments to be issued under the Vocational Training Act or under Part Two of the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code (Handwerksordnung), to take part in the preparation of the Report on Vocational Education and Training (Berufsbildungsbericht), to take part in the compilation of vocational training statistics, to promote pilot schemes, including scientific investigations, to take part in international cooperation in the field of vocational education and training, as well as to assume further administrative tasks of the Federation for the promotion of vocational education and training;
• in accordance with general administrative provisions of the competent federal ministry, to implement the promotion of intercompany training centres and support the planning, establishment and further development of these facilities;
• to maintain and publish the register of anerkannte Ausbildungsberufe (recognised occupations requiring formal training);
• to carry out the tasks described in the Law on the Protection of Participants in Distance Education (Fernunterrichtsschutzgesetz – FernUSG) in accordance with approved guidelines and to contribute to the improvement and extension of vocational distance learning through the promotion of development projects;
• to carry out the tasks in accordance with section 53 (5) sentence 1 and section 54 of the Nursing Professions Act (Pflegeberufgesetz).

With the consent of the BMBF, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training may conclude contracts with other parties outside the Federal Administration for the assumption of further tasks.

Vocational training in Germany is based on the consensus principle. Whenever major decisions on structure and substance have to be taken, such decisions are reached in a joint effort by Federation and Länder, employers and employees. These groups are members of the Federal Institute for Vocational Training's board. One representative each of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit – BA), the umbrella organisations of municipal associations established at federal level and the Research Council may attend the meetings of the Board in an advisory capacity. The scientific advisory committee is intended to promote the quality of the Institute’s research work by advising the board and the President of the Federal Institute.

Responsibilities of the Ministries of Education, Cultural Affairs and Science and cooperation at supra-regional level

Educational legislation and administration of the education system are primarily the responsibility of the Länder. This particularly applies to the school system, higher education and the adult education/continuing education sector.

Following the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, it soon became clear that there was a basic public need for education to be coordinated and harmonised throughout the country if people were to be provided with the opportunity of mobility between the Länder in their professional and private lives. The main aim of the cooperation entered into by the Länder in 1948 with the founding of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz) was to guarantee by means of coordination the necessary measure of shared characteristics and comparability in the Federal Republic of Germany's education system, an aim that is still pursued to this day.

The Standing Conference brings together the ministers and senators of the Länder responsible for education and training, higher education and research, and also cultural affairs. It is based on an agreement between the Länder and deals with policy matters pertaining to education, higher education, research and culture that are of supra-regional importance, with the aim of forming a common viewpoint and a common will as well as representing common interests. The resolutions of the Standing Conference can be adopted either unanimously, with a qualified majority or with a simple majority, depending on their content. They have the status of recommendations – with the political commitment of the competent Ministers to transform the recommendations into law, however – until they are enacted as binding legislation by the parliaments in the Länder. The resolutions are implemented in the individual Länder in the form of administrative action, ordinances or laws, with the Land parliaments playing a role in the legislative procedure.

Cooperation within the Standing Conference has led to uniform and comparable developments in many areas of the school and higher education system. Some of the most important results of the coordination work of the Standing Conference are detailed below.

School policy

In February 2021, the "Agreement on the Common Basic Structure of the School System and the National Responsibility of the Länder in Central Questions of Educational Policy" (‘Vereinbarung über die gemeinsame Grundstruktur des Schulwesens und die gesamtstaatliche Verantwortung der Länder in zentralen bildungspolitischen Fragen‘), which was adopted in October 2020, came into force. A total of 44 articles describe central questions of quality assurance, overarching principles of education and upbringing in the Länder, the tasks of those involved in schools, general regulations such as holiday regulations, the structure and organisation of the school system and questions of teacher training. The agreement between the Länder replaces the Hamburg Agreement, which was adopted in 1964 and last amended in 1971, and places cooperation between the Länder on a new common basis.

In conjunction with the "Agreement on the Common Basic Structure of the School System and the National Responsibility of the Länder in Central Questions of Education Policy", the Länder have agreed in the Standing Conference on a series of "political projects" which are to be implemented in the next few years. The agreement between the Länder also includes the establishment of a "Standing Scientific Commission of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder". The task of this body is to advise the Länder on questions of the further development of the education system and on how to deal with its challenges, in particular on ensuring and developing quality, on improving the comparability of the education system and on developing medium- and longer-term strategies on education topics relevant to the Länder as a whole.

Vocational schools

The structural change of the employment system from an industrial society to a service and knowledge society has led to a significant increase in the vocational qualification requirements at the workplace. Against this background, comprehensive initial and continuing education has gained significant importance. The conformity in the organisation of the vocational school system and its leaving certificates which is required for the labour market and for vocational qualification has been created by the Standing Conference through skeleton agreements regarding the vocational courses of education.

The status of vocational schools as an alternative course of education to acquire the entitlements of the general education school system was supported by the Standing Conference through resolutions on the mutual recognition of the leaving certificates and entitlements.

Higher education policy

In the higher education sector the Standing Conference contributes, through agreements, and by effecting coordinated administrative action, to ensuring a common higher education structure and to its continued development. The Standing Conference is thereby involved in a continuing reform process which is taking place in the German higher education sector and covers both the research and teaching tasks of higher education institutions and the rights and obligations of members of higher education institutions, the internal organisation of higher education institutions, their legal status, and the relationship between the State and higher education institutions. The relationship between the State and higher education institutions is also shaped by agreements on targets and performance requirements, and growing freedom on the part of the higher education institutions in evaluation and opting how to achieve targets. Internationalisation, competition and performance orientation have become major factors in the management and funding of higher education institutions. 

The Standing Conference contributes to this development through information exchange between the Länder, through joint recommendations on individual aspects of the structural reform of higher education and – where required for the purposes of transparency, mobility and safeguarding the performance of higher education – through cross-Länder agreements. In this process the Standing Conference works closely together with the German Rectors' Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz – HRK) and the Federation, and with scientific organisations – particularly the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG), the Science Council (Wissenschaftsrat) and the Max Planck Society.

Topics relating to the field of higher education which have been covered in depth by the Standing Conference over the past few years include the further development of the system of the accreditation of study courses within the framework of quality assurance across the Länder and across institutions of higher education, quality assurance in teaching, teacher training, the reinforcement of the right of higher education institutions to decide on the admission of applicants, the further development of the dialogue-oriented service procedure (Dialogorientiertes Serviceverfahren – DoSV), the new regulation of admission to courses of study with nationwide admission restrictions, the continuation of the follow-up of the Bologna Process for the realisation of a European Higher Education Area and access to higher education and higher education admission for refugees.

Arts and culture

In addition to school and higher education policy, art and culture are the third focal points of the coordination work of the Standing Conference. In order to give even greater visibility to the cultural policy concerns of the Länder as the core element of the constitutionally guaranteed cultural sovereignty of the Länder and to improve their status in public perception, the Standing Conference has decided to set up its own Culture Ministers' Conference (Kulturministerkonferenz – Kultur-MK). The Kultur-MK began its work on 1 January 2019.

For a detailed description of the cooperation of the Ministers of Education, Cultural Affairs and Science visit the website of the Standing Conference.

Cooperation between Federation and Länder

Joint Science Conference

Pursuant to Article 91b, paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, the Federation and the Länder may mutually agree to cooperate in cases of supra-regional importance in the promotion of science, research and teaching.

Through an administrative agreement from 11 September 2007, last amended on 17 April 2015, the Bund and Länder agreed to set up a Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz – GWK) on the basis of Article 91b GG, paragraph 1 of the Basic Law. The GWK has replaced the former Commission of the Federation and the Länder for Educational Planning and Research Promotion (Bund-Länder-Kommission für Bildungsplanung und Forschungsförderung – BLK) since 1 January 2008. Members of the GWK are the Ministers and Senators of the Federation and Länder responsible for science and research as well as for finance. The GWK addresses all questions of research funding, science and research policy strategies and the science system which jointly affect the Federal Government and the Länder.

The joint promotion of science, research and teaching in cases of supra-regional importance extends in particular to the institutions and projects named in the Annexe to the GWK agreement.

Cooperation of the Federation and the Länder for the assessment of the performance of educational systems in international comparison

Pursuant to Article 91b, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, the Federation and the Länder may mutually agree to cooperate for the assessment of the performance of educational systems in international comparison and in drafting relevant reports and recommendations. Important projects in the area of cooperation between the Federation and the Länder with regard to the assessment of the performance of educational systems in international comparison and in drafting relevant reports and recommendations are discussed in meetings of the Federal Minister of Education and Research and the ministers and senators of the Länder who are responsible for education. The meetings are prepared by a control group which in turn is supported by a scientific advisory committee.

Coordinating Committee for Training Regulations and Framework Curricula in vocational training

In the dual system, training in a recognised occupation basically takes place at company or inter-company learning venues and at the vocational school. The legal bases are the Vocational Training Act (Berufsbildungsgesetz) and the Handicrafts Code (Handwerksordnung) and the Eduation Acts of the Länder. Training at company-based or inter-company learning venues is regulated by the Federal Government through training regulations (Ausbildungsordnungen). The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (Kultusministerkonferenz) adopts a framework curriculum (Rahmenlehrplan) for vocational education and training at the vocational school. The successful cooperation between the learning venues depends on the content and consecutive coordination of these two means of regulation.

To this end, on 30 May 1972 the Federal Government and the Ministries of Education and Cul-tural Affairs of the Länder agreed on the procedure for the coordination of training regulations and framework curricula in the field of vocational education and training, as set out in the so-called Joint Results Protocol (Gemeinsames Ergebnisprotokoll). The basis for this was the first comprehensive statutory regulation of vocational education and training in the Vocational Training Act of 1969.

Since then, recognised occupations requiring formal training have been classified according to this procedure, which was not fundamentally changed by the amendments to the Vocational Training Act of 2005 and 2020. In this process, coordinated training specifications are created in training regulations and framework curricula for the learning venues of company and vocational school, which are aligned with the occupational concept. With these regulatory means, the companies and vocational schools are given the task of implementing and continuing the coordination carried out at the federal level.

The procedure for the coordination of training regulations and framework curricula was decided and further developed on the basis of the Joint Outcome Protocol in the Federal-Länder Coordination Committee on Training Regulations and Framework Curricula, which is made up of representatives of the Federation and the Länder. The Federal Government is represented on the coordination committee by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the ministry responsible for the respective occupation requiring formal training. The representation of the Länder is made up of the members of the Committee for Vocational Education and Training (Auschuss für berufliche Bildung) of the Standing Conference.

Science Council

Under an administrative agreement between the Federation and the Länder, the Science Council (Wissenschaftsrat) was established in 1957. Its tasks include the drawing up of recommendations on the content and structural development of higher education, science and research for the Federal Government and the governments of the Länder, as well as the joint promotion of the construction of facilities at institutions of higher education, including large scientific installations, in cases of supra-regional importance pursuant to Article 91b, paragraph 1, No. 3 of the Basic Law.

In addition, the Science Council has been carrying out the institutional accreditation of non-state institutions of higher education since 2001. Since 2010, the Science Council has also been conducting concept evaluations for institutions of higher education in the start-up phase. The Science Council is made up of scientists, recognised public figures and representatives from the Federal and Länder governments.

Foreign Cultural Relations and Education Policy

As regards foreign cultural relations and education policy, the Federation's responsibility for foreign relations (Art. 32 of the Basic Law) must be reconciled with the internal responsibility of the Länder for education and cultural affairs (Art. 30 of the Basic Law). This partnership brings with it the rights and duties of the Länder to contribute to tasks related to foreign cultural relations and education policy. These tasks range from bilateral cooperation within the framework of cultural agreements with foreign states to multilateral cooperation at the level of the Council of Europe, UNESCO, the OECD and the OSCE and supra-national cooperation within the EU. In addition to the internal coordination of the Länder, the Standing Conference is thus also a tool for a partnership-based cooperation with the Federation, particularly with regard to foreign cultural relations and education policy, as well as international and European cooperation in the education system and in cultural affairs.

The system of German schools abroad is one particular area in which the Federation and the Länder cooperate as part of Germany's foreign cultural relations and education policy. An agreement reached in 1992 between the Federation and the Länder created the Joint Committee of the Federation and the Länder on School Affairs Abroad (Bund-Länder-Ausschuss für schulische Arbeit im Ausland – BLASchA), which took up where the work of the Standing Conference's Committee for German Schools Abroad, convened in 1951, had left off. The Committee is responsible for cooperation between the Standing Conference and the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) in the areas of German schools abroad, European Schools and the promotion of German language tuition abroad.

A representative of each Land, a representative of the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) and a representative of the Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt – BVA) – Central Agency for Schools Abroad (Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen – ZfA) – coordinate in the committee on common areas of schools abroad and inform each other about measures in each other’s exclusive competence.

The Central Committee for the German Language Diploma (Deutsches Sprachdiplom – DSD) of the Standing Conference, a subcommittee of the BLASchA, which is composed of three representatives of the Länder, one representative of the Federal Foreign Office and two representatives of the Federal Office of Administration – Central Agency for Schools Abroad –, is responsible for coordinating and assuming tasks in the field of promoting German language teaching abroad, in particular the programme for the German Language Diploma.

General administration at the level of the Länder

The Ministries of Education, Cultural Affairs and the Ministries of Science in the Länder (which have different titles in the various Länder) in their capacity as highest authorities of a Land are responsible for education, science and culture. Their scope of responsibilities generally includes schools, higher education, research, libraries, archives, adult education, arts and culture in general, relations between the state and religious or ideological communities, (known as Kultusangelegenheiten), the preservation of monuments and sites and, in some Länder, also sport as well as child and youth welfare.

The Ministries of Education, Cultural Affairs and Science develop policy guidelines in the fields of education, science and the arts. They adopt legal provisions and administrative regulations, cooperate with the highest authorities at national and Land level and supervise the work of authorities under their purview and of subordinated bodies, institutions and foundations. To assist the ministries in their work the Länder have established their own institutes for school education, higher and continuing education.

The respective Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs (in Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg: Senate department) are headed by a Minister/Senator who is answerable to parliament. The Minister is usually represented by a State Secretary or State Councillor (Staatssekretär oder Staatsrat) or a Director-General (Ministerialdirektor).

The following list shows the division of the departments in each of the Länder. For current information on ministers, see the respective website.

Baden-WürttembergMinisterium für Kultus, Jugend und Sport Thouretstraße 6 70173 Stuttgart 

Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Königstraße 46 70173 Stuttgart 

BayernBayerisches Staatsministerium für Unterricht und Kultus Salvatorstraße 2 80333 München

Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst Salvatorstraße 2 80333 München

BerlinSenatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie Bernhard-Weiß-Straße 6 10178 Berlin

Senatsverwaltung für Wissenschaft, Gesundheit, Pflege und Gleichstellung Oranienstraße 106 10969 Berlin

BrandenburgMinisterium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport Heinrich-Mann-Allee 107 14473 Potsdam 

Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur Dortustraße 36 14467 Potsdam 

BremenDie Senatorin für Kinder und Bildung Rembertiring 8–12 28195 Bremen

Die Senatorin für Wissenschaft und Häfen Katharinenstr. 38 28195 Bremen

HamburgBehörde für Schule und Berufsbildung Hamburger Straße 31 22083 Hamburg 

Behörde für Wissenschaft, Forschung, Gleichstellung und Bezirke Hamburger Straße 37 22083 Hamburg 

HessenHessisches Kultusministerium Luisenplatz 10 65185 Wiesbaden 

Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst Rheinstraße 23–25 65185 Wiesbaden 

Mecklenburg-VorpommernMinisterium für Wissenschaft, Kultur, Bundes- und Europaangelegenheiten Schloßstraße 6-8 19053 Schwerin

Ministerium für Bildung und Kindertagesförderung Werderstraße 124 19055 Schwerin 

NiedersachsenNiedersächsisches Kultusministerium Hans-Böckler-Allee 5 30173 Hannover 

Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur Leibnizufer 9 30169 Hannover 

Nordrhein-WestfalenMinisterium für Schule und Bildung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen Völklinger Straße 49 40221 Düsseldorf 

Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen Völklinger Straße 49 40221 Düsseldorf 

Rheinland-PfalzMinisterium für Bildung des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz Mittlere Bleiche 61 55116 Mainz

Ministerium für Wissenschaft, und Gesundheit des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz Mittlere Bleiche 61 55116 Mainz

SaarlandMinisterium für Bildung und Kultur Trierer Straße 33 66117 Saarbrücken

Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes (Wissenschaftsressort) Am Ludwigsplatz 14 66117 Saarbrücken

SachsenSächsisches Staatsministerium für Kultus Carolaplatz 1 01097 Dresden 

Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus Wigardstraße 17 01097 Dresden 

Sachsen-AnhaltMinisterium für Bildung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt Turmschanzenstraße 32 39114 Magdeburg 

Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Energie, Klimaschutz und Umwelt des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt Hasselbachstraße 4 39104 Magdeburg 

Schleswig-HolsteinMinisterium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur des Landes Schleswig-Holstein Brunswiker Straße 16-22 24105 Kiel

ThüringenThüringer Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport Werner-Seelenbinder-Straße 7 99096 Erfurt 

Thüringer Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Digitale Gesellschaft Max-Reger-Straße 4-8 99096 Erfurt

The Ministries of Education, Cultural Affairs and Science have their own sections, departments and groups just like any other ministries. The allocation of specific responsibilities to the various organisational units is partly attributable to local developments and partly to ideas on cultural and educational policy. But for all their differences, the responsibilities of the Länder ministries are corresponding and their forms of organisation comparable.

Taking Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein as examples, we shall look at the functions and organisational set-up at the departmental level of the ministries responsible for education and science as at August 2020.

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Federal State of Brandenburg

State Minister:             BRITTA ERNST 

The Ministry is composed of the following departments:

Department 1:    Finance, organisation, IT, personnel and legal affairs, matters of school maintaining bodies, implementation of the digitalization of schools, legal affairs in education, statistics, information management, policy of teacher recruitment          Department 2:     Children, youth, sports and continuing education Department 3:     Supervision of schools and teacher training

Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the Federal State of Brandenburg

State Minister:             DR. MANJA SCHÜLE

The Ministry is composed of the following departments:

Department I:              Central department Department II:             Science and research Department III:            Culture

Unlike Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein has just one ministry for the areas of education and science:

Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the Land Schleswig-Holstein

Minister:                      KARIN PRIEN

The Ministry is divided into the following departments:

Department III 1:          General department Department III 2:          Cross-cutting educational policy tasks, teacher recruitment and teacher personnel management Department III 3:          School development and school supervision of general and vocational schools, support centres and quality assurance Department III 4:           Culture Department III 5:           Science

State supervision and administration in specific educational sectors

The following description of each individual educational sector provides a comprehensive view of the administration of the various educational institutions.

Pre-school institutions

The education, upbringing and supervision of children until the age of six at which they usually start school is generally assigned to the child and youth welfare sector. On the federal level, within the framework of public welfare responsibility lies with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend – BMFSFJ), on the level of the Länder, the Ministries of Youth and Social Affairs and, in part, also the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs, are the competent authorities. In some Länder, Vorklassen (pre-school classes) for children who are ready for school but are not yet of school age, or Schulkindergärten (school kindergartens) and Vorklassen for children of compulsory schooling age who are not expected to be able to participate successfully in initial education. As a rule, these institutions are accountable to the school supervisory authorities.

Public supervision (operating licence) to protect children in day-care centres maintained both by public and non-public bodies is generally exercised by the youth welfare offices of the Länder (Landesjugendämter) which are the responsible bodies at Land level for the public child and youth welfare services. This covers in particular compliance with the framework guidelines applicable to group size or staff-to-child ratios, staff qualifications, the space required, and standards relating to equipment, hygiene and safety, safeguarding the rights of children and youths in the facility through appropriate procedures for involvement and the possibility of complaints in personal matters, measures to develop and ensure quality, and in some Länder, compliance with the pedagogical concept, which is also based on an educational plan.

The principles of education policy in the elementary sector are laid down in the Common Framework of the Länder for early education in the early childhood sector (Gemeinsamer Rahmen der Länder für die frühe Bildung in Kindertageseinrichtungen) which was resolved by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education an Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz) and the Youth and Familiy Ministers Conference (Jugend- und Familienministerkonferenz – JFMK) in 2004 and is currently being updated. On the level of the Länder, education plans specify the basic notion of education and describe the day-care centres’ independent responsibility for education. The responsibility for the actual educational work performed in the individual day-care centres lies with the maintaining body.

For children under three years of age, moreover, since 2005 child-minding services have gradually been upgraded as an equal-ranking, alternative form of care and the quality of these services developed. Permits for child-minding services are issued by the local youth welfare office [Jugendamt] and are dependent on the establishment of the personal suitability of the childminder and also, as a rule, on evidence of a basic qualification. The legally enshrined educational mandate also extends to child-minding services.

School supervision and administration

Under the Basic Law (Art. 7 paragraph 1) and the constitutions of the Länder, the entire school system is under the supervision of the state. Supervision of the general and vocational school system is the responsibility of the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs in the Länder in their capacity as the highest educational authorities. The duties of the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs in the Länder and of the subordinate education authorities include the organisation, planning, management and supervision of the entire school system. The Länder sphere of influence also includes the detailed regulation of the school’s mission and its teaching and educational objectives (internal school matters) within the framework of the education acts. The educational objectives presented in school legislation are given concrete shape in the curricula for which the Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs of the respective Land is responsible. In order to implement the curricula for the various subjects in the different types of school, textbooks are used as learning material in the classroom. 

While the State is responsible for internal school matters, the school-maintaining bodies assume responsibility for external school matters. The public maintaining bodies of schools are, as a rule, the towns and cities [Städte] and municipalities [Gemeinden] and rural districts [Landkreise] or municipalities with the status of a district [kreisfreie Städte], and to some extent also the Länder. Generally speaking, the school-maintaining body is responsible for external school matters, i.e. school buildings, interior fittings, the procurement and provision of learning and teaching materials, administrative staff and ongoing administration, and also bears the non-personnel costs and the costs for non-teaching staff. The school-maintaining body is also, as a rule, responsible for school organisation measures such as setting up, changing and shutting down schools.

According to the law of the Länder, school supervision is exercised as Dienstaufsicht (supervision of the staff at public-sector schools), Fachaufsicht (academic supervision) and Rechtsaufsicht (legal supervision).

School supervision decides on all matters of fundamental importance concerning school or-ganisation and school development and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the content-related regulations concerning teaching and school.

Together with the support systems, the school supervision advises and strengthens the schools in the fulfilment of their tasks, in particular in the exercise of school autonomy, in the development of school programmes, in internal and external evaluation and in the further training of teachers.

Rechtsaufsicht (legal supervision) involves monitoring the lawfulness of the administration of external school matters, which is usually carried out by the Kommunen (local authorities) in their capacity as Schulträger (maintaining bodies).

Fachaufsicht (academic supervision) over teaching and educational work (internal school matters) in all public-sector schools is another responsibility of the school supervisory authorities. Academic supervision over primary schools and Hauptschulen, the various types of sonderpädagogische Bildungseinrichtungen (with the exception of residential special schools) and to some extent over Realschulen is exercised by the Schulämter (lower-level school supervisory authorities). The Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs, sometimes the middle-level school supervisory authorities and the lower-level school supervisory authorities, supervise all other types of school and schools of particular importance.

Land authority to carry out academic supervision is derived from the state sovereignty over schools enshrined in the Basic Law. This states that the entire school system is under the supervision of the state. The supervisory authorities are awarded the power to check that schools are keeping to the prescribed curricula, timetables and Prüfungsordnungen (examination regulations) by visiting the school and sitting in on lessons, and to take necessary steps.

The pedagogical responsibility of the schools must be respected. Pedagogical responsibility – also termed pedagogical freedom or methodological freedom – includes the right of teachers to teach lessons on their own authority within the framework of the applicable legal provisions. The teacher is guaranteed this freedom in the interests of the pupils, as pupil-oriented teaching can only take place if the teacher has an adequate amount of freedom in selecting the content of lessons, teaching methods and assessment. The pedagogical freedom of the teacher is to be seen in relation to the requirement of acting in a professional manner, and to the pedagogical responsibility of the school. For example, the teachers are bound by the basic pedagogical concepts laid down in the school programmes.

The school supervisory authorities in the Länder also supervise teachers and head teachers at public-sector schools. Staffing issues, management and the general behaviour of the individuals working in the school are subject to such Dienstaufsicht (staff supervision). In some Länder, due to the increasing responsibility of the schools, the Dienstaufsicht has been transferred to the head teachers.

With increasing institutional independence of schools, the role of school supervision changes as well. In all Länder, the school supervision is supplemented by mandatory external evaluation (Schulinspektion, Schulvisitation) which is intended to provide the individual schools with information regarding their quality development. The state’s influence on schools is increasingly exercised via the approval of Schulprogramme (school-specific programmes) and the determination of target agreements with the individual schools or head teachers, respectively. Support and advice to the schools is mainly provided through school development and school quality management. In this respect, school counselling prepares schools for new tasks and encourages them to promote the pedagogical responsibility of teachers and schools, particularly by instigating a binding agreement that governs pedagogic aims and focal points of the work involved, as well as in the development of school-specific programmes.

In-company vocational training institutions

Regulation of in-company vocational training in the sector of vocational training lies within the responsibility of the Federation. Within the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie) or such other ministry as may be competent, adopts, in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF), Ausbildungsordnungen (training regulations). These are drawn up by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung - BIBB) pursuant to directions from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy or such other ministry as may be competent in close cooperation with representatives of employers and trade unions as well as occupational practitioners. In parallel to the training regulations, and in coordination with them, the Rahmenlehrpläne (framework curricula) for the classes at Berufsschulen are developed by the Länder pursuant to a procedure agreed between the Federation and the Länder (Joint Results Protocol – Gemeinsames Ergebnisprotokoll).

A training establishment may not only be the individual training company, but also an association of several companies which cooperate in order to meet the requirements of the training regulation (network training – Verbundausbildung). In order to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their training, parts of the in-company training can be carried out in training centres (überbetriebliche Berufsbildungsstätten – ÜBS) on a supplementary basis. Training centres thus make a significant contribution to ensuring the training capability of SMEs and to securing skilled labour. In addition, there are other ways to support trainees and/or companies in their training, such as training assistance (ausbildungsbegleitende Hilfen – abH), the possibility of extra-company training, external training management or assisted training.

At the level of the Länder vocational training committees are set up which are composed of employers', trade unions' and ministerial representatives. They advise the governments of the Länder on vocational training matters. Their responsibilities also include the promotion of a steady further quality development in vocational education and training.

Institutions in the tertiary sector

As a rule, institutions of higher education have the status of a public-law corporation and are public institutions under the authority of the Länder. They can also be established with a different legal form. Under the Basic Law, the freedom of art and scholarship, research and teaching is guaranteed (Art. 5, paragraph 3), i.e. an autonomous sphere of academic self-administration is needed to guarantee freedom of scholarship. In administrative matters there is a cooperative relationship between the responsible Land ministry and the higher education institution. Within a unitary administration the latter's functions include both academic matters and governmental matters such as personnel, economic, budgetary and financial administration. Independent of this, Rechtsaufsicht (legal supervision) and, to a certain extent, Fachaufsicht (academic supervision), the power of establishment and organisation and authority over financial and staffing matters all lie with the responsible Land ministry or government.

As a rule, Bachelor's and Master's degree programs are subject to accreditation by the Accreditation (Akkreditierungsrat). The establishment of new study courses may require agreement with the responsible Land ministry. In the Länder where this is required, accreditation is a prerequisite for ministerial approval. As a rule, the establishment of new study courses takes place within the framework of agreements on targets and performance in which the Land ministry and the higher education institution agree on developments inter alia in research and teaching. The study regulations, which are laid down for all study courses by the higher education institutions on the basis of the corresponding legal requirements, are as a rule approved by the governing boards of the higher education institutions. Prüfungsordnungen (examination regulations) are dealt with in different ways: as far as study courses leading to a Staatsprüfung (state examination) are concerned, the examination regulations are issued by the competent Land ministries or, in agreement with the Land ministry competent for the relevant state examination, by the higher education institutions. As far as examination regulations for Hochschulprüfungen (academic examinations) are concerned, they are drawn up and approved by the higher education institution itself in the same way as the study regulations, whereby, depending on Land law, notification to the responsible Land ministry or approval by responsible Land ministry may be required.

In addition to the higher education institutions to which access is open to all, there are some specialised institutions with restricted access which are maintained by the Federation and the Länder. These include the universities for the Federal Armed Forces and Verwaltungsfachhochschulen (Fachhochschulen for federal and Land public administration). Finally, Germany has state-recognised institutions of higher education which are under church oder private sponsorship.

The higher education acts of the Länder general principles for the legal position of higher education institutions and for the academic and creative arts staff, including the participation of all members of these institutions in self-administration. The higher education legislation of the Länder also regulates in detail the organisation and administration of higher education institutions for those higher education institutions that come within the purview of each Land. 

The organisation and administration of Berufsakademien (professional academies) are governed by the Berufsakademie laws passed in the individual Länder. Berufsakademien can be divided into Studienakademien (study institutions) and, with regard to the practical part of the training offered, designated training establishments (under the terms of a dual system). The state study institutions are Land institutions and hence subject to the direct supervision of the ministry responsible for science and research. The training establishments for the practical component of training courses include private businesses, comparable establishments – particularly with regard to the liberal professions – and establishments run by maintaining bodies responsible for the provision of social tasks. The training and examination regulations for individual courses are adopted by the relevant ministry in the form of ordinances or by the Berufsakademie itself.

In addition to the state-run Berufsakademien, some Länder only offer privately-maintained professional academies, which, in each case, require recognition from the relevant ministry.

Institutions for continuing education

In the field of continuing education we find, more than anywhere else in the education system, a large number of different institutions and offers side by side – and also collaborating wherever necessary – run by the public and the private sector, non-profit making and commercial organisations, employers' and public institutions. The independence of institutions active in the field of continuing education, the freedom to organise courses as they see fit and to select their own staff are guaranteed as conditions essential to a continuing education set-up according with the interests of the community and its members.

The federal system in Germany means that the regulation of and assistance for general continuing education, continuing education leading to school qualifications, vocational further education at Fachschulen and that with an academic bias as well as, in some cases, political programmes, is in the hands of the Länder. The responsibilities of the Federation refer in particular to vocational education outside the school context, the development of new methods in continuing education through pilot projects, certain elements of political further education and statistical matters. The promotion of vocational further education under Book Three of the Social Code (Drittes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch – Arbeitsförderung) is the responsibility of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). The Upgrading Training Assistance Act (Aufstiegsfortbildungsförderungsgesetz – AFBG) provides a comprehensive nationwide means for financing vocational career advancement training. Responsibility for further vocational training as regulated by the Vocational Training Act (Berufsbildungsgesetz – BBiG) and the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code (Handwerksordnung – HwO) lies with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - BMBF). Nationally uniform further training courses shall be issued in the form of a statutory order. Graduates who have been successfully examined on the basis of a further training regulation issued after 1 January 2020 shall bear the title of Certified Specialist, Bachelor Professional or Master Professional. Further training courses for which there is a regional need only are regulated by the competent bodies, generally the relevant chambers (e.g. chambers of handicrafts, chambers of industry and commerce), under their own responsibility. Responsibility for the master craft examinations as regulated by the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code lies with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie).