refugees
Migration: Union calls for faster school integration
A girl from Ukraine sits in a class with her teaching materials. photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
Tens of thousands of refugee children go to school in Germany – but according to the federal states, exactly how many are unclear. How the lessons are organized also varies greatly.
In view of the high number of refugees, the education union is demanding GEW provides faster access to lessons for immigrant children and young people.
Education is very important for integration because it is about quickly establishing social contacts and learning the language, GEW federal boss Maike Finnern told the German Press Agency. “That’s something that’s lacking.” Many thousands of school-age refugees in Germany were still waiting for a school place, especially in the initial reception. “Actually, there should be education right from the start so that integration can take place as quickly as possible,” said Finnern.
No consistent data
According to a survey by the German Press Agency in the federal states, tens of thousands of refugee children and young people are being taught across Germany – although sometimes separately from German students.
An exact number is not available because several federal states do not record at all, or only approximately, how many refugees are informed by them, especially when it comes to countries of origin other than Ukraine. The organization of lessons also differs from country to country. However, more than around 180,000 students come from Ukraine alone. No figures were yet available for Berlin, Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
From North Rhine-Westphalia it was said that around 93,000 students there were in “initial support”, including almost 39,000 from Ukraine. This particularly affects students who are attending a German school for the first time and do not have sufficient knowledge of German. In Baden-Württemberg, 48,700 students, including 28,900 Ukrainians, take part in so-called preparatory classes or a pre-qualification year before they are integrated into regular classes. There are around 30,000 refugee students in Hesse who are being prepared for regular German-language lessons in intensive classes. In Hamburg, around 6,400 students attend so-called welcome classes.
Criticism of unequal treatment
Other federal states such as Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate or Saarland, on the other hand, emphasize rapid integration into regular classes, usually combined with additional language support. “This is intended to enable good integration right from the start,” explained the Ministry of Education in Thuringia. Around 30,500 students with a migrant background are taught there, including 5,880 from Ukraine.
The mix of measures is large – in Lower Saxony alone there are, among other things, lessons in the state reception authorities, welcome groups at mainstream schools or additional German lessons. The schools have leeway and can help decide which offer suits their situation – there is no fixed requirement from the country for teaching refugees.
According to the GEW union, there are also differences in how Ukrainians and asylum seekers are treated. In some places, Ukrainians received special starter packages that other children do not receive. “This is unequal treatment, which I think is not okay,” said union leader Finnern. Everyone should be treated equally in education, regardless of where they come from.