According to a proposal for the Minister‑President Conference (MPK) scheduled to take place this Thursday in Berlin, the leaders of all 16 German states intend to tighten enforcement of school attendance violations. The initiative, launched in Hesse, comes after the number of unexcused absences has risen sharply in recent years.
The ministers of state agreed that the right of every child and youth to education must be decisively upheld, and that violations of compulsory schooling should be met with firm sanctions. To achieve this, they called for the creation of appropriate regulatory mechanisms and stressed the importance of identifying the root causes of absenteeism. They also advocated for preventive measures that ease the burden on families and effectively counter retreat from the school system.
Hessian Minister‑President Boris Rhein (CDU), speaking to the newspaper “Welt”, said: “Children need reliable structures in their everyday lives. Those who skip school lose access to education, classmates, and state protection. School attendance isn’t an optional offer-it is the foundation for a successful school experience. Therefore we must penalise violations more consistently and tackle the underlying causes early”.
State officials acknowledged that when parents fail to meet their responsibilities, the government must act-possibly with sanctions-but also aim to strengthen support for families. By doing so, children would not fall out of the system; instead, they would find school time enriching, educational, and fulfilling.
