Tens of thousands of refugee children in Hesse's schools
Around 45,000 children from immigrant or refugee families are currently being taught at schools in Hesse. As the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs informed Deutsche Presse-Agentur in response to an inquiry, most of them come from Ukraine.
A total of 34,122 pupils are currently (as of November 1) being taught in special German courses, including 14,569 from Ukraine. In addition, there are around 10,000 children who already speak German so well that they have been attending regular classes since this school year. The number of Ukrainian children is also the highest among them.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, many people have also fled to Germany. According to the Ministry of Education, Ukrainian children and young people under the age of 16 are usually first admitted to intensive classes at general education schools and receive 22 hours of support per week. Ukrainian refugee children of primary school age are also admitted to intensive classes and receive intensive German language support.
In total, there are currently around 798,000 children and young people in classes at general education and vocational schools in the federal state.
The influx of refugees from Ukraine has significantly increased the need for language support in Hesse's schools. Consequently, Ukrainian refugee children, both primary and secondary, are being enrolled in intensive German language courses to help them integrate into the education system.
Source: www.dpa.com
