Learning and Knowledge Acquisition - High migration rates observed at two schools in the nation
In two schools located in Rhineland-Palatinate, over 90% of the students come from migrant backgrounds. These schools are the Erich Kästner Primary School and the Graefenau Primary School, both situated in Ludwigshafen. Education Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) shared this information with the AfD faction in Mainz after a parliamentary inquiry.
The Graefenau School is well-known for its regional impact as it attracted attention due to 39 out of 126 first-graders having to repeat the school year last year. Unfortunately, many first-graders with migrant backgrounds did not meet their learning goals this year either. The school administration estimates that 44 out of 147 children would benefit from repeating a class.
This particular primary school, situated in an area with a high concentration of migrant families, is often labelled as a "hotspot" or "problematic area." Many students here have limited proficiency in German or hail from educationally disadvantaged families. Some of the affected children spent minimal or no time in a German kindergarten.
In the current school year, there are 89 primary schools across Rhineland-Palatinate where more than half of the students have a migrant background, which is a whopping 9% increase from the total number of schools. At secondary schools plus, the figure stands at 26 (15.5%), and at combined primary and secondary schools plus one school.
One high school in Rhineland-Palatinate has a migrant population between 50-75%, two integrated comprehensive schools have this profile, and 11 special needs schools fall into this category. Additionally, one vocational school caters to such a demographic.
The Conference of Ministers of Culture's criteria for defining a student with a migrant background include those who do not have German citizenship, were born outside of Germany, or speak German neither with their family nor in their immediate surroundings.
