According to a Conservative MP, immigrant children attending school in Germany must only speak German in the school premises.
Mario Chaia, general secretary of the Christian Democratic Union, said that many immigrants do not integrate well into society due to insufficient knowledge of the German language, and called for new measures in schools.
“Care should be taken that German is the main language spoken in schools. It is unacceptable that other languages besides German are spoken in the schoolyard,” Chaya told Die Welt newspaper.
A senior politician from Germany’s main opposition party said schools with many migrants should hire more linguists, social workers and educators.
“Teachers and school administrators must ensure that students speak our language. Otherwise, starting from schools, parallel societies will develop,” he said.
Immigrant organizations have criticized Chai’s controversial remarks, which echo previous proposals by right-wing politicians who called for a ban on speaking foreign languages in the schoolyard.
Berin Arukaslan, co-chairman of the Turkish parents’ association in Berlin-Brandenburg, stressed that the knowledge of one’s mother tongue is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the constitution.
“We are categorically against this proposal. This is nonsense,” she told Anadolu (AA), adding that German courts have in the past ruled against a ban on the use of one’s mother tongue in school corridors.
She noted that two years ago a court in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg lifted disciplinary sanctions against students who spoke their native language in a playground.
“This decision of the court is very clear. The introduction of such a ban is out of the question,” Arukaslan said.
According to the latest data, about 27% of the German population has a migration background, and in primary schools 39% of all children from immigrant families.
