Most general education schools in Germany are under the jurisdiction of the state (the federal states), and the overwhelming majority of teachers have the status of state officials. In addition, there are schools financed from other sources on an equal footing - for example, from the funds of religious associations. The main task of the state is to satisfy the needs of the new generation for education, and this service can be provided not only in public schools. Independent or private schools are for the most part financed from the state budget: the state takes on more than 80% of the expenses. This is done so that tuition fees at private schools are not too high, accessible only to especially wealthy parents. According to the Basic Law of Germany, there should be no special schools for the children of the rich.
The secondary education system is based on primary school. In most federal states, primary school covers the first four years of study; in some states it also includes the fifth and sixth grades (children mostly aged 11 and 12). According to the definition of the Conference of Ministers of Culture and Education of the States, the main task of primary school is to 'open students' access to elementary written culture,' including basic arithmetic operations on the blackboard and in notebooks. This implies sufficient training in the field of the native language.
Today, for approximately 400,000 of the 3.2 million primary school students, that is, almost 12% of the total, the native language is not German, which is the language of instruction, but another language. This can be a major obstacle to mastering the school curriculum. For example, in the state of Hesse, all future first-graders must, a year before school, undergo an interview (literally) with the school principal. He checks how well five-year-old children speak German and, if necessary, advises parents to take their son or daughter to a preparatory class so that the child can timely fill gaps in the language of instruction. If a first-grader does not know German sufficiently, the teacher can remove the student from classes and send them to courses.
Bavaria is widely introducing language classes for newcomers with insufficient knowledge of the German language. When a child enters school, a standardized 'language diagnostics' is carried out. Of course, such pressure from the state, aimed at the language integration of children, causes ambiguous reactions and disputes among the federal states. For example, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which has the most numerous population, prefers the principle of voluntariness to compulsory language tests already at preschool age. Only in the fifth and sixth grades, that is, after the end of primary school, four additional hours per week are provided here for schoolchildren who lag behind their peers in mastering German.
Which type of school a child will choose upon completion of the first stage depends mainly on the wishes of the parents. 114 thousand - or 11% of all schoolchildren - go to the main school (Hauptschule), 128 thousand or about 13% move to the intellectually more challenging intermediate (Realschule) or middle school (Mittelschule). Approximately 230 thousand, or almost a quarter of German schoolchildren, enter the gymnasium (Gymnasium) every year, which opens the path to higher education. About 600 thousand schoolchildren move to the so-called comprehensive school (Gesamtschule), which combines elements of different forms of school (main, intermediate, and gymnasium). About 50 thousand schoolchildren who previously interrupted their educational path enter a college (Weiterbildungskolleg), an educational institution providing general secondary education.
After obtaining a certificate, school graduates try to get higher or vocational-technical education. The system of vocational-technical education consists of studying at a vocational school and learning a profession at an enterprise. Currently, the number of such students is about 1.8 million. The same number of young people receive higher education each year. Attendance at a vocational school is also mandatory for graduates of general education schools until they reach 18 years of age, if they have not yet found a place for further study or work. The training program includes special disciplines in the relevant profession, as well as general education subjects from the economic and social spheres.
To enter a German university, German schoolchildren must study at school for 13 years. Foreigners also have the right to receive a higher European education, but only those of them who have completed at least two years of university in their own country.
Tatyana POMINCHUK,
'Gulf Stream' association.