Ministerial Rift Explodes Over Migrant Student Limits
Politics

Ministerial Rift Explodes Over Migrant Student Limits

The Standing Conference of Education Ministers (KMK) does not possess the authority to regulate the proportion of children with migrant backgrounds in school classes, according to the conference’s president, Simone Oldenburg, Minister for Education in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Speaking to the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Oldenburg stated that determining such quotas is a matter for individual states to decide independently. She emphasized that the issue falls outside the purview of the KMK’s decision-making power.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according to Oldenburg, currently has a relatively low proportion of individuals with migrant backgrounds compared to other regions. The focus, she explained, should be on ensuring adequate support mechanisms are in place to facilitate the acquisition of German language skills for all children.

Oldenburg highlighted the proactive measures already in place within her state, noting that many newly arrived children and adolescents are initially integrated through preparatory classes designed to gradually orient them toward mainstream instruction.