A German Teachers’ Union Calls for Clear Guidelines for Dealing with Right-Wing Extremism in Schools
The Education and Science Trade Union (GEW) is urging policymakers and school administrators to establish a framework for dealing with right-wing extremist and racist statements made by teachers. The union’s president, Maike Finnern, emphasized that any expressions of violence or incitement to hatred must be consistently condemned and prosecuted through disciplinary and legal means.
According to Finnern, it is the responsibility of the government and school authorities to create the necessary structures and tools for schools and teachers to have a clear understanding of the boundaries and to act professionally. To achieve this, the GEW suggests a range of measures, including the establishment of systematic complaint and reporting procedures, prevention and intervention concepts with defined action chains, independent advisory and complaint bodies and a stronger anti-discrimination protection.
Finnern also warned against blanket consequences for teachers who are members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. She believes it would be counterproductive to put all teachers and the teaching profession as a whole under suspicion. However, in individual cases, the GEW president supports the idea of the domestic intelligence agency, the Verfassungsschutz, investigating AfD members who are also teachers, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they have breached their oath and neglected their educational duties.