The standing conference of German state education ministers has no authority to regulate the proportion of children with migrant backgrounds in school classes, according to its current president, Simone Oldenburg, Minister for Education in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Speaking to the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Oldenburg stated that the decision of whether to limit the representation of students with migrant backgrounds within classrooms is a matter for individual states to determine independently.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which currently has a relatively small proportion of residents with migrant backgrounds compared to other German states, prioritizes providing adequate support systems. “It’s a matter of the availability of resources to ensure all children can learn the German language equally” Oldenburg explained. She highlighted that many newly arrived children and adolescents are integrated through preparatory classes, providing a gradual transition to mainstream instruction.