Latest news with #Prien
Local Germany
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Backlash after German minister suggests cap on immigrant students in schools
Speaking to a Welt tv program over the weekend, Germany's Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) said she was open to introducing a cap on the number of students with a migrant background in school classes. Her comments came in response to a question from Welt's editor-in-chief, who had referenced similar efforts in Denmark. Prien suggested that a cap of 30 to 40 percent was a 'conceivable model,' emphasizing that the decisive factor for school success is that children should be able to speak German when they start school. She called for early, mandatory language tests for four-year-olds and binding language learning support measures for those identified as needing help. Prien argued that looking at the experiences of other countries—specifically Denmark—could provide valuable insights. What's happening in Denmark? While Denmark does not have a formal, nationwide quota for children with a migrant background in schools, it has implemented similar measures in certain areas. In neighbourhoods with a very high proportion of children with a migrant background, the Danish government reportedly required schools to pause the admission of new students and develop plans to attract more 'ethnically Danish' students. However, these were localised interventions, and not a blanket national quota system. READ ALSO: What parents in Germany should know about the planned schools shake up Reaction in Germany Prien's remarks were met with immediate and widespread criticism. The Federal Government's Integration Commissioner, Natalie Pawlik (SPD), rejected the proposal, arguing that 'Germany does not need quotas in the classroom' and that integration is best achieved through targeted support, not exclusion. The president of the German Teachers' Association, Stefan Düll, said that using a child's foreign roots as a benchmark was not helpful. He called the idea of quotas 'problematic', noting the logistical challenges in areas where almost half the population has a migrant background. READ ALSO: How German leaders are blaming foreigners for country's woes Advertisement He and other education experts stressed that language skills, not background, should be the main criterion for school admission. Opposition parties and associations also voiced strong concerns. The Left Party called the proposal unworkable, especially in urban centres, and warned of stigmatization and exclusion. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), on the other hand, criticized Prien's proposal as 'too lax', called for a significantly lower limit of ten percent. READ ALSO: More childcare, less paperwork - How Germany can make life easier for foreign parents In fact media reports, including one by the German teachers' magazine News4teachers , have pointed out that the idea of introducing migrant quotas in Germany was first suggested by the AfD. Not constitutional Despite the polarised debate that Prien's comments sparked, the legal, practical, and political obstacles to introducing school quotas in Germany appear insurmountable. Germany's Basic Law ( Grundgesetz ) prohibits discrimination based on origin, meaning that the constitutional court would almost certainly challenge the legality of mandating migrant quotas in schools. Advertisement Additionally, in Germany education is primarily the responsibility of states rather than the federal government. So only the states ( Länder ) can implement binding rules on quotas or mandatory language tests.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Post-WWII Germany's first Jewish cabinet member on past lessons, new risks
Berlin — When Karin Prien's mother brought her to Germany as a little girl in the late 1960s, she gave her one urgent warning: "Don't tell anyone you're Jewish." Nearly six decades later, Prien is now post World War II Germany's first Jewish federal cabinet member, having been selected as the Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Prien told CBS News she intends to use her platform to confront the rise of antisemitism in Germany and further afield, and the fragility of democracy in a country still reckoning with its past. "Well, in a way, I'm proud," the minister told CBS News in a candid interview. "Proud to be a minister in the federal government, but also that I'm recognized as Jewish and that German society is now so far [advanced] as to accept that Jewish people have a right to be a self-conscious part of this society." Prien's political career, and her personal story, represent an arc of conflict, tension and reconciliation that echoes that of post-Holocaust Germany itself. "A question of responsibility" Born in the Netherlands to Holocaust survivors, Prien moved to Germany at the age of 4. Even as a child, she was heavily aware of the silence surrounding her family's identity. Her mother's warning that it was still too dangerous to talk about being Jewish — more than two decades after the war ended — shaped her early years. "There was always fear. My mother was afraid that there were too many Nazis still around," Prien said. "It wasn't taken for granted that you could talk about being Jewish. It was something you kept inside the home." But that silence eventually became intolerable. As a young teen, she said she began to understand that the democratic values she cherished — freedom, human dignity, anti-discrimination—- required defending. "I decided, 'I have to do something about it. Democracy is not something you can take for granted,'" she said. But Prien still waited decades before publicly acknowledging her Jewish identity. The turning point came in the early 2010s, when she was already a member of state parliament in Hamburg. Prien began pushing for systematic documentation of antisemitic incidents in schools. When a journalist asked why the issue mattered so much to her, she paused and then told him: "Because I'm Jewish." "That was the moment I realized I had a political voice," she recalled. "I had some kind of influence. And for me, it was a question of responsibility." Lessons from the past for the threats of today That sense of responsibility weighs heavily on Prien in today's Germany, where she said antisemitism is no longer confined to the political fringes. "We see rising antisemitism all over the world," Prien said. "They dare to be openly antisemitic. I think it's now more than after the end of World War II. They dare to be openly antisemitic, and that's also in Germany getting stronger and stronger. That has changed. And so we have antisemitic tendencies on the margins, but we also have it in the middle of society." While Germany once appeared to be a model of historical reckoning, Prien said she fears complacency is setting in. After some "honest decades," during which Prien says Germans confronted themselves with the stark realities of their country's history, "now, people are dying. And now we have to find new ways to talk about that." Prien thinks that should include a shift in Holocaust education. She wants German schools to expand from their current focus on the atrocities of World War II to also teach the history of Israel, the cultural contributions of Jewish Germans, and the origins of antisemitism. "Jewish identity is part of German identity," she told CBS News. "Young people need to know that Jews are not only victims. Jewish people are diverse. They have a voice. They are part of this society." Prien said she draws inspiration from figures including Margot Friedländer, a Holocaust survivor who famously coined the phrase: "Be Human." That, Prien said, should be the foundation of any education system in a democracy: teaching empathy and human dignity. But it's not only historical facts and universal dignity that need defending, she said, it's also Germany's democratic fabric. "We are an immigration society," Prien said. "But we're not very good at having fair and equal chances for children who start with more difficult conditions." She sees educational equity and national democratic resilience as intrinsically linked. Prien is now leading efforts to limit mobile phone use in German elementary schools, warning that parents and policymakers have been too naive about the risks of digital exposure for young people. "We are anxious about the real world. We drive our kids to school and into the classrooms but we are not anxious about the stuff online," she said. "That has to change." Asked what message she has for young Jews with political ambitions in Germany today, Prien didn't hesitate: "Stay. Don't pack your luggage. This is a different Germany. This is a country where you can live safely. And it's our job to make that promise true every day." SpaceX loses contact with its Starship, spins out of control Post-WWII Germany's first Jewish cabinet member on finding her "political voice," facing the past Elon Musk says he and Trump administration sometimes have "differences of opinion"
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's Merz 'aware' of criticism over gender imbalance in Cabinet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is 'aware' of criticism over a gender imbalance in his Cabinet, a government spokesman said on Friday. "You can assume that we are aware of the composition," deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille said in Berlin. "But some things are the way they are." Asked whether the chancellor has less confidence in women, Hille said: "I don't think so," and added that "the chancellor enjoys working with women." Merz has a wife and several daughters, the spokesman pointed out, adding that "there are numerous women working in the federal government." Eight of the 18 seats in the Cabinet are taken by women, four of which are from Merz's centre-left coalition partner, the Social Democrats. In Merz's office, the Chancellery, there are also more men than women in senior positions. Meanwhile, the coalition committee - the second key decision-making body in the new government - is to consist of ten men and one woman. Merz's party colleague Karin Prien sees a definite need for change. "As minister for women, who is also responsible for equality, I can tell you that parity must remain a goal," Prien told dpa. For Prien, from Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), this means that "we must obviously strive for and fight for more positions such as party chair, secretary general and similar positions so that we are then also represented accordingly in these bodies." Women must be louder in government and in the party and stand up for their positions, Prien said.
Local Germany
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
What parents in Germany need to know about the planned schools shake up
For years a lack of investment and ambition has hampered attempts to improve education in Germany. Enter Karin Prien (CDU), Germany's new and super-charged Minister of Education -- officially Minister of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Young People, or head of the BMBFSFJ -- with ambitious plans to reform schooling in Germany. Prien, who has years of experience in the field as a state education minister for Schlewig-Holstein, is determined to take advantage of the ministry's expanded remit to 'think about education holistically … and from the perspective of children and young people.' So what does this mean in practice? Here are the main planned changes that parents of school kids in Germany can expect. The expansion of all-day schooling With German schoolchildren falling behind their peers in other countries, according to PISA scores , and more and more families with both parents in full-time employment, the minister is determined to push ahead with plans to offer all-day schooling across the country. These plans were originally introduced by the previous traffic light government, and many schools have already started building out new canteens and other school buildings they need to offer all-day schooling. Unfortunately, as many of these projects have fallen behind schedule, the first bill Prien has brought before parliament (which was discussed on Thursday morning) will attempt to delay federal deadlines for all-day schooling by two years, to 2030. READ ALSO: How do pupils in Germany compare in international maths and science tests? More investment in early education, and mandatory testing In interviews, Prien has suggested that the number of children who start school with a poor command of German is responsible for the relative decline in educational achievement in Germany in recent years. With the goal of raising standards, and halving Germany's school dropout rate by 2035, Prien wants to introduce mandatory testing for children at the age of four. She has also talked about introducing mandatory support for children whom the tests identify as being behind in their development. During a recent speech, Prien stated that the federal government would 'invest billions in daycare centres and schools.' The minister has also announced her intention to relaunch the language daycares ( Sprach-kitas ), and extend the Starting Chance ( Startchancen ) programme in schools to Ki tas in socially deprived areas. Prien also wants to review nationwide quality standards for Kitas , with a view to placing more emphasis on education and less on childcare. Advertisement No more mobile phones in primary schools? Prien has taken issue with children spending too much time in front of screens. School children in Germany are among the world leaders in screentime, according to a recent OECD report which found that 15 year olds in Germany and Austria use electronic devices for an average of 30 hours per week. Prien has set her sights on minimising screentime from an earlier age. She has spoken out against the amount of time pre-schoolers spend in front of screens, and voiced favour for banning the use of mobile phones in primary schools altogether. State ministers of education are already looking at the issue. Prien intends to help them in their deliberations by providing better access to scientific studies, evidence, and analysis. READ ALSO: What are the rules in Germany on students having phones at school? Advertisement Integrating youth services and specialised teacher training However, halving the school dropout rate in the next ten years won't be possible simply through testing pre-schoolers, offering all-day schooling, and banning mobile phones. Prien also wants to invest in more support for children who arrive late in Germany's school system – and in additional training for teachers on how to cope with 'difficult and demanding groups of pupils.' She intends to take advantage of the expanded remit of her ministry to 'link youth welfare services more closely with schools,' in order to prevent pupils from falling through the cracks. READ ALSO: What having kids at a German kindergarten teaches you about the local culture
