Case 1
- School type
- Gymnasium (25.5)
- Employment fraction
- 100%
- Age reduction
- 0
- Disability reduction
- 0
- Credited lessons for other duties
- 0
25.50
Open with these valuesTeaching Load Calculator (North Rhine-Westphalia)
25.50lessons/wk
Result: 25.50 lessons/wkFull time in NRW is 25.5 lessons a week at a Gymnasium, Gesamtschule, Sekundarschule or Berufskolleg, 28 at a Grundschule, Hauptschule or Realschule and 27.5 at a Förderschule. Part time cuts that figure in proportion; age and disability reductions come off afterwards as whole lessons.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: School type Gymnasium (25.5), Employment fraction 100.0 %, Age reduction 0.0, Disability reduction 0.0.
| Credited lessons for other duties | Result |
|---|---|
| 0.0Your value | 25.50 |
| 0.5 | 25.00 |
| 1.0 | 24.50 |
| 1.5 | 24.00 |
| 2.0 | 23.50 |
| 2.5 | 23.00 |
| 3.0 | 22.50 |
| 3.5 | 22.00 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- School type
- Grundschule (28)
- Employment fraction
- 50%
- Age reduction
- 0
- Disability reduction
- 0
- Credited lessons for other duties
- 0
14.00
Open with these valuesCase 3
- School type
- Realschule (28)
- Employment fraction
- 100%
- Age reduction
- 0
- Disability reduction
- 2
- Credited lessons for other duties
- 0
26.00
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
target = statutory load × fraction − reductions − credits
- StepPick your school type; its statutory full-time load is fixed by law.
- StepEnter your employment fraction — the load is cut in the same proportion.
- StepSubtract any age or disability reduction and any credited lessons.
- ResultThe result is the lessons you owe in a normal week.
What this number means
A teacher's working time in Germany is measured in lessons, not hours, and the number is set by state law. In North Rhine-Westphalia the regulation implementing § 93 of the school act fixes it per school type: 28 lessons at a Grundschule, Hauptschule or Realschule, 27.5 at a Förderschule or Klinikschule, 25.5 at a Sekundarschule, Gymnasium, Gesamtschule or Berufskolleg, 25 at an Abendrealschule and 22 at an Abendgymnasium, Kolleg or Studienkolleg. Part-time work cuts that figure in the same proportion as the contract, and the reduced figure is what your pay is measured against. Two statutory reductions come off on top. From the school year after your 55th birthday you drop one lesson, and after your 60th you drop three, with smaller amounts if you work part time. A severe disability reduces the load by two, three or four lessons depending on the degree, and the employer may grant up to four more in individual cases. Lessons credited for running a collection, mentoring or serving on the Lehrerrat are drawn from a pool the school distributes, so they are entered here rather than derived. At the schools with fractional loads the half lesson is rounded up for three half-years and down for three, over a three-year cycle.
The numbers are in the regulation
All thirteen school-type figures come from § 2 (1) of the VO zu § 93 Abs. 2 SchulG NRW, in the version that took effect for the 2026/2027 school year.
Reductions are not cut a second time
The regulation already states smaller reductions for part-time teachers instead of scaling the full-time ones. Enter the figure that applies to your fraction and it is subtracted as it stands.
North Rhine-Westphalia only
Every German state writes its own Pflichtstundenverordnung. The arithmetic on this page holds elsewhere, but the thirteen numbers behind it do not.
The school authority decides your actual load
This page is an estimate and not legal advice. Your Schulleitung and the Schulaufsicht set the binding figure, and a band of up to six lessons either way is allowed for up to six months.
Commonly misread
A half post at a Gymnasium means 12 or 13 lessons, take your pick.
It is exactly 12.75 lessons on paper. The half lesson is smoothed by rounding up for three half-years and down for three across a three-year cycle.
Credited lessons raise my employment fraction.
They lower the lessons you teach, not the fraction you are employed at. Pay and pension follow the fraction, which is unchanged.
The age reduction is halved again if I work half time.
The regulation names its own part-time amounts instead: half a lesson at 55, and 1.5 lessons at 60 on a half post.
Reference table
| School type | Weekly lessons at full time |
|---|---|
| Grundschule, Hauptschule, Realschule | 28 |
| Förderschule, Klinikschule | 27.5 |
| Sekundarschule, Gymnasium, Gesamtschule, Berufskolleg | 25.5 |
| Weiterbildungskolleg (Abendrealschule) | 25 |
| Abendgymnasium, Kolleg, Studienkolleg | 22 |
Questions
How many lessons a week is full time for a teacher in NRW?
It depends on the school type: 28 at a Grundschule, Hauptschule or Realschule, 27.5 at a Förderschule, and 25.5 at a Sekundarschule, Gymnasium, Gesamtschule or Berufskolleg. An Abendgymnasium, Kolleg or Studienkolleg is 22.
How is the load calculated for part-time teachers?
It is set in proportion to the full-time figure for the school type. A 60 percent post at a Gymnasium is 15.3 lessons, and that number is also the basis for pay.
When do I get the age reduction?
From the start of the school year following your 55th birthday you drop one lesson, and from the year after your 60th you drop three. Part-time teachers get proportionally smaller amounts named in the regulation.
What does a severe disability reduce the load by?
Two lessons at a degree of 50 or more, three at 70 or more and four at 90 or more, for full-time teachers. On application the employer may grant up to four further lessons in individual cases.
Do credited lessons count as teaching?
No, they replace teaching. Schools receive a pool of credits per post and the Schulleitung distributes them for duties such as collections, mentoring or the Lehrerrat.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.