The German secondary education system is a rather complex phenomenon that even Germans themselves are sometimes unable to fully understand. But when speaking of its imperfections, critics complain not about the complex nature of the system as such, but about its 'multilevel' structure. In their opinion, the division of German schools into Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium is discriminatory, especially towards children from poor families and immigrant families.
This view is shared not only by specialists in Germany itself but also by UN experts. UN human rights expert Vernor Muñoz, who outlined the world organization's position on this issue, stated the need to abolish the current division in the German school system. Instead, a common secondary school for all children should be introduced. To argue his demands, Muñoz cited the results of many studies showing that, as a result of the imperfections of the secondary education system, higher education in Germany is a privilege of the most economically well-off layers of German society, the children of its political and economic elite. According to the statistics he provided, 72% of children from so-called socially privileged families receive higher education in Germany, while in other families this share is only 12%.
Germany is one of the few countries in the world where children as young as 10 are divided according to academic performance, which ultimately becomes largely decisive for their further education and career. At the same time, practice shows that children from academic families find it easier to obtain the necessary recommendations from primary school teachers for further study at Gymnasium than children from families with a weaker social status. According to experts, this division of children into a kind of intellectual groups at an early age leads to the family status of students becoming decisive in this process, effectively replacing factors such as the child's talent and abilities. This selection system is not only unfair but also economically unsustainable. In modern conditions, with a high level of industrial automation, rapid development of information technology and the service sector, qualified employees are becoming increasingly in demand. According to experts, the German education system in its current form does not take these trends into account. This is evidenced by the fact that while, for example, in Australia, Finland, or Sweden the share of university applicants is 70%, in Germany this figure hovers around 37%.
Muñoz pointed out the shortcomings of the German school system, in which, in his opinion, a child's chances of getting a good education depend on their social background. This leads to discrimination against the most vulnerable segments of the population: children of immigrants, children from poor families, as well as children with physical and mental disabilities. Ultimately, the Abitur certificate, which entitles one to enter a university, is effectively 'passed down by inheritance'. In this regard, Muñoz appealed to the German government with a recommendation to conduct additional research and identify the causes of such inequality. The expert did not rule out that the cause lies precisely in the multilevel, or more precisely, three-tier system of German schools.
This point of view is shared by German experts as well. The head of the trade union Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW) in Hamburg, Peter Göbel, calls for merging all existing forms of school education into one that is accessible to everyone. And the president of the Berlin Free University, Dieter Lenzen, considers the system that originated 150 years ago to be outdated. He is agreed by the coordinator of the Pisa-Studie project, Andreas Schleicher. In his conviction, the model on which German school education is based has long been abandoned by all progressive European countries. The attachment of the German education system to it leads, in his opinion, to the real potential of many young people remaining unfulfilled. This indicates the need to introduce common standards and requirements for all school students.
The prospect of creating a common secondary school is not understood by all state governments. The southern states, primarily Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, remain loyal to the education system with a 150-year history and currently oppose radical changes. The states in northern Germany, such as Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, are ready to break with tradition in order to improve the quality of education in the country and create equal conditions for all children, regardless of their social and national roots.
Elena GROMOVA.
Russkaya Germanya