The Petitions Committee of the Bundestag is advocating for German states to mandate swimming lessons for children aged six and older. According to the “Rheinische Post” (Saturday edition), the committee viewed a petition advocating for this mandatory requirement favorably. The petition was submitted, among other reasons, due to numerous accidents caused by insufficient swimming skills. The committee suggested that integrating compulsory courses into the school curriculum would be the best approach.
The body stated that it has “great understanding” of the proposal and “explicitly” supports the reasons for ensuring children learn to swim at an early age. However, because the federal government is not responsible for this matter, the committee forwarded the submission to the state parliaments to “bring attention to the issue”.
Martin Holzhause, a spokesman for the DLRG (German Life Saving Association), informed the “Rheinische Post” that the Ministers of Education had already set a goal back in 2017: that as many children as possible should be able to swim safely by the age of ten to twelve. However, Holzhause noted that this goal is not currently being met due to a shortage of qualified personnel in schools and the closure of many bathing facilities.
He stressed that the federal government, the states, and local municipalities must finally plan the swimming pool infrastructure according to actual needs. Moreover, Holzhause stated that “from the DLRG’s point of view, there is no need for a mandatory swimming course. It should be ensured through compulsory schooling that all children learn to swim at school”.
