Alliance seeks sufficient school spaces for refugee youngsters

Movement of Individuals - Alliance seeks sufficient school spaces for refugee youngsters

The "Access to Education for All" network is urging for ample spaces in Saxon schools for children belonging to refugee families. In a message to Minister President Michael Kretschmer and Culture Minister Christian Piwarz (both CDU), it was mentioned that approximately 1500 displaced kids and adolescents are currently waiting for a spot, breaching the schooling law, and denying their right to education. The Education and Science Union (GEW) assumes a larger number.

"Education is a basic human right, applicable to all children and youngsters, regardless of their passport. Saxony's failure to honor the rights of the affected leads to serious consequences. These children and youngsters are wasting precious time unnecessarily, which they might not be able to recoup later," affirmed Claudia Maass, vice-chairman of GEW. Moreover, the learning of the German language, essential for schooling, integration, and societal participation, is being postponed.

The Dresden Refugee Council enumerated more dire consequences. "Social isolation and the scarcity of gainful employment affect the psychological well-being of the impacted youth adversely. The ensuing depression, hopelessness, and, in some cases, child endangerment are prevalent occurrences our alliance encounters consistently in Saxony," asserted Olga Sperling, the council's Managing Director. The "Access to Education for All" band is a coalition of more than 30 organizations, associations, and representatives.

The Free Voters (FW) in Saxony announced the count of affected children and adolescents on Monday following a non-partisan MP in the Saxon Parliament's inquiry about the state of schools. The party forewarned a breakdown in the educational infrastructure and cited the staff shortage as a contributing factor. Integrating children and youth with foreign ties into the school system is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

Culture Minister Piwarz had consistently highlighted the precarious situation. By the end of 2023, he anticipated schools being over their threshold due to the high number of refugee youngsters. Although integration can be accomplished in class settings, it can only be executed up to a 30% extent for students originating from migrant backgrounds, the minister stated. In less than a decade, the number of students with foreign roots has tripled.

The "Access to Education for All" criticized a "blame-game" tactic, accusing non-German children and youth for the Saxon "educational predicament." "We are no longer in the summer of 2015. Saxony just hasn't evolved to adapt its school system into a comprehensive one for the multicultural society. It necessitates a conceptual, staffing, and material enhancement to adapt to the current demands as quickly as achievable," the Refugee Council commented.

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1. The GEW believes that there are more refugee children and adolescents in need of school spaces than the stated 1500, which is causing a violation of their educational rights.
2. The "Access to Education for All" network, composed of over 30 organizations, criticizes the use of a "blame-game" tactic towards refugee children and adolescents, attributing Saxony's educational predicament to an inadequate adaptation of the school system to the multicultural society.
3. Michael Kretschmer, the Minister President of Saxony, and Christian Piwarz, the Culture Minister, have been urged by the "Access to Education for All" network to allocate sufficient school spaces to accommodate approximately 1500 refugee children and adolescents who are currently without seats, infringing on their right to education.
4. The integrating of children and youth with foreign ties into Saxony's school system is becoming increasingly challenging due to the high number of refugee youngsters and the staff shortage, according to the Free Voters (FW) in Saxony.
5. According to the Dresden Refugee Council, the social isolation and scarcity of gainful employment of refugee children and adolescents in Saxony result in negative psychological impacts such as depression, hopelessness, and, in some cases, child endangerment.
6. The Saxony Parliament's inquiry about the state of schools led the Free Voters to reveal that there are currently around 1500 refugee children and adolescents waiting for spots in Saxon schools, which breaches the schooling law and denies their right to education.
7. Claudia Maass, vice-chairman of the Education and Science Union, emphasized that education is a fundamental human right for all children and youngsters, including refugee children, and the delay in providing them with a proper education can lead to significant consequences and wasted time.

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