That town - Minister pays a visit to refugee kids' classes.
In Lower Saxony, refugee kids and teens get educational opportunities right when they arrive at the shelters. Julia Willie Hamburg, a Green politician, visited these learning sessions at the Celle branch of the State Reception Office (LAB). She explained that these kids are being readied for school knowledge in a very specific way, which will later benefit them and the schools.
At the moment, there are almost double the number of school-going kids and teenagers in these shelters than there were a year ago. In February 2023, there were 660, and in March 2024, a grand total of 1056 children and teenagers between the ages of 6 and 18. Despite the absence of a school obligation while they're at the LAB, attending school becomes mandatory post the asylum seeker distribution to municipalities.
The voluntary classes are mostly attended by children aged 6 to 15. These young ones are lucky enough to be taught by teachers from the nearby public education schools - right within the shelter. On the other hand, refugee teens aged 16 to 18 can enroll in vocational schools in the nearby areas.
The average length of stay for families in these shelters is around 3 months, with some staying for just a few weeks while others may be there for up to half a year. With limited housing space in the municipalities, the shelter facilities have been repeatedly expanded. Two new places have been set up in Bad Bodenteich (Uelzen district) and Bad Sachsa in the Harz. The Braunschweig location is undergoing an expansion right now. It's estimated that three more locations will be added to this list, bringing the total number of LAB facilities to eight. Along with the five LAB branches and the Celle one, there are currently eleven emergency shelters running. As per the Interior Ministry, around 5240 people are currently accommodated in these places and emergency shelters, with around 450 to 500 asylum seekers arriving in Lower Saxony each week. Even though the total capacity of the reception centers is 11,895, they're not being fully utilized at the moment.
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Source: www.stern.de
