With the Digital Pact for Schools, the Federation and the Länder have implemented the largest joint investment in digital education infrastructure in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany from 2019 to 2024. A total of Euro 6.5 billion in federal funds was made available, supplemented by contributions from the Länder and municipalities. The Digital Pact for Schools enabled the nationwide expansion of Wi-Fi, the modernization of school network infrastructures, and the purchase of digital devices and presentation technology. Supplementary programs promoted the loan of devices to students and teachers and the establishment of professional IT administration in schools. 

In December 2025, the education ministers of the 16 Länder and Federal Education Minister Karin Prien agreed on Digital Pact 2.0 at the Education Ministers' Conference (Bildungsministerkonferenz) in Berlin. Digital Pact 2.0 will invest a total of Euro 5 billion nationwide over five years, with half of the funding coming from the federal government and half from the Länder. The federal government is providing Euro 2.5 billion, with the states contributing an equal share. Digital Pact 2.0 builds on the previous Digital Pact for Schools. This has significantly reduced the administrative burden on states and local school authorities. 

The new agreements create more efficient procedures. They offer the Länder and school authorities the opportunity to further develop the high-performance digital infrastructures of their schools in a targeted manner. They enable investments in infrastructure to be used in such a way that they improve schools and teaching in the long term. Digital Pact 2.0 takes a holistic approach: in addition to high-performance technical equipment, it explicitly includes reliable maintenance and support structures as well as modern digital learning environments. This strengthens the entire digital learning space. 

An important element of Digital Pact 2.0 is the Federation-Länder initiative “Digital Teaching and Learning,” which focuses on the further training of teachers. The federal government will invest up to Euro 250 million in practice-oriented research in order to set clear priorities with five research clusters and a scientifically led transfer office. The aim is to work with practitioners to develop innovative approaches to digital teaching and to prepare teachers specifically for the new requirements. 

For more information: https://www.digitalpaktschule.de/ 

Source: Eurydice Unit Germany