At a subsequent press conference on August 29, the President of the NST, Ulrich Mädge (Lord Mayor of the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg), Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, Managing Director Dr. Jan Arning and Managing Director Dirk-Ulrich Mende presented the most important results.
An important topic of the meeting was the digitalization master plan presented by the state government. The association's executive committee expressly welcomes this, but points out the special consideration given to commercial areas, schools and hospitals in the expansion of fiber optic networks in Lower Saxony. State Secretary Stefan Muhle from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Transport and Digitalization was invited as a guest to the meeting. In its resolution, the NST calls for an unbureaucratic solution for the allocation of funding, particularly for the installation of free Wi-Fi in public buildings.
Another topic on the agenda was the planned reform of teacher training. An expert forum is currently compiling results on the topic of "Training and access to the profession" in order to present a concept for reforming training in spring 2019. This means that a new training course is likely in 2020. "That is far too late. We need a convincing, ready-made concept now and not a delaying order. The local authorities and independent providers need more than six months in advance to make the new training course known to potential applicants," emphasized Association President Mädge at the press conference. Vice President Frank Klingebiel added: "In our view, three years of educator training, an appropriate training allowance and a reliable training contract for applicants are essential building blocks for dualized training."
Sewage sludge disposal was also discussed at the meeting. Due to a regulation, its use as a fertilizer is severely restricted. Sewage sludge must be incinerated as waste and the necessary mono-incineration plants will only be available in Lower Saxony in around 5 to 8 years. The NST is calling for the possibility of interim storage for sewage sludge as long as the incineration capacities are not yet available.
