Karliczek compulsory attendance, except after holidays

BMinister of Education Anja Kallicek (CDU) insists that students are generally compulsory attendance at school after the holidays. “In my opinion, mandatory attendance should generally apply again,” Karllicek of the New Osnabrück newspaper said Saturday. However, it should be possible for previously sick and particularly vulnerable children and adolescents.

There will be framework conditions to ensure the safety of teaching. Going to school is an important factor in children’s daily life. “They need social interaction, they have to learn,” the education minister said.

But she publicly expressed support for the corona test after the holiday. Testing must be performed regularly, and the frequency depends on the course of the infection. The CDU politician said: “If the incidence increases, we should make it the first and most important measure.”

Does not rule out school closure

The Minister of Education does not want to completely exclude school closures as a possible measure: “In a pandemic situation, you can never guarantee or exclude certain things. We don’t know what other variants will appear.” But she “believes that schools can be used this year. In principle, keep it open in autumn.” She used “increased vaccination rate” and “good test structure” to prove this.

The teacher union GEW is concerned that the curriculum for the next school year will continue to be affected. At the request of the German News Agency, Roman Georges, the education policy officer of the Hessen State Education and Science Union, said that it is questionable to publicly exclude this, as was done at the meeting of education ministers, for example. George said: “Instead of falling into pure wishful thinking, it is now more important to take appropriate precautions so that schools are as prepared as possible for the first three years in the event of a pandemic.”