NRW: New system for Abitur task download tested

Following the Abitur task download debacle in 2023 in North Rhine-Westphalia, the use of the new system will be extended to the upper secondary school level this year. According to the Ministry of Education, it was already successfully tested at North Rhine-Westphalian adult education centers in autumn 2025. The Ministry of Education announced this to the dpa. However, if something goes wrong with the download of the Abitur tasks again, fewer Abitur students will be affected this school year – at grammar schools, the switch from G8 to G9 is almost complete, creating a gap between Abitur cohorts.

In 2023, written Abitur exams were postponed by two days due to a "massive technical disruption" during the download of tasks for the central Abitur. The downloads for biology, chemistry, nutrition science, computer science, physics, and technology were affected. As the contract with the previous service provider was about to expire, Minister of Education Dorothee Feller (CDU) announced that the service would be re-tendered and a new system set up. The new service provider, after the Europe-wide tender, is Liongate AG, based in Munich.

Adult education centers have already tested the system

According to the Ministry of Education and Schools, the new system was tested in autumn by the 35 North Rhine-Westphalian adult education centers. They reportedly downloaded their final exams via the system without any problems. The experiences were described as "very positive".

For this year, the ministry expects only around 5,700 students to take their Abitur at grammar schools. Normally, tens of thousands participate in Abitur exams in the secondary level II – in 2025, there were around 70,000 across all school types. The reason for only a few thousand grammar school students this school year is the almost completed transition from G8 to G9. The first G9 cohort will take their Abitur there in 2027.

(kbe)