"Islam not the boss": Minister open to radical step in schools
Education Minister Karin Prien considers a cap on migrants in German school classes to be a "possible model." Islam is "not the boss here," the minister said.
Federal Education Minister Karin Prien is open to the idea of an upper limit for children with a migration background in schools. "That's a conceivable model," she said on the Welt-TV program "Politikergrillen mit Jan Philipp Burgard." Burgard had asked the CDU politician for her opinion on such a limit, citing the example of Denmark.
Regarding the level of a possible upper limit, she said: "I think it always makes sense to look at the experiences of other countries to see whether it is 30 percent or 40 percent in the end." The Minister of Education, however, added that it is crucial that children can speak German when they start school.
"Welt" editor-in-chief Burgard described the case of a Berlin elementary school with a 90 percent immigrant population. A student there said that Islam was the boss. Prien commented: "And I want to make it very clear: Islam is definitely not the boss here; the boss here is the Basic Law."
If such tests reveal a need for support, the states are expected to implement mandatory support measures and concepts, according to the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD. School performance tests have shown growing deficits among elementary school students in the past.
"We don't just have problems with children from migrant backgrounds. We also have problems with children from families who have always been here," said Prien, who recently proposed a new care allowance . This is due to changing parenting habits. She called for more responsibility from parents. "Education and upbringing are equally the responsibility of parents as they are of schools or other institutions, such as daycare centers."
Since education and daycare centers are a matter for the states, the federal government cannot prescribe uniform rules for further action. This applies to the discussed possible upper limits for children with a migration background as well as to mandatory language tests. These can only be implemented individually by the states or if they agree on a joint approach.
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