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MULTIMEDIA
May 27, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

German schools to give Turks education in mother tongue

Turkish schoolgirls take part in an Islam and science class at a school in Bremen, northwestern Germany.
27 November 2009 / ERGİN HAVA / ZİVER ERMİŞ, COLOGNE
Having long faced problems in acclimating to the German education system, with language being a major obstacle, Turkish students in Cologne now have the chance to receive an education in their mother tongue.
Ten primary schools in Cologne, one of the cities with the highest immigrant population in Germany, have started offering classes in the mother tongue of students in addition to German and English as part of a European Commission project. The project, aimed at easing language problems and providing equal opportunity in education to the children of migrant families, kicked off with a press conference earlier this week in Cologne, where the schools received their certificates from city Mayor Jürgen Roters.

Seven of the schools will provide education in Turkish, while the other three will offer classes in Italian.

“Thanks to this project students from migrant backgrounds will find it easier to adapt to German schools and hence become relatively more successful. This is a major step for the establishment of a sustainable harmony between different cultures in Cologne as well as in Germany,” said Roters, speaking at the press conference on Monday. He also noted that students who graduate from these schools will find it relatively easier to take their place in the labor market. As a result of low success rates at schools, most Turkish youngsters in Germany have difficulties in the labor market during their working life. Roters said education in one’s mother tongue should be encouraged from the early ages. “We expect more schools to participate in the project in the coming years.”

Cologne is one of the cities with the highest migrant population in Germany. Some 50 percent of students under the age of 14 in Cologne come from migrant families, while one-third of the city’s total population are migrant citizens. Erkan Türkoğlu, a Turkish scholar from Cologne University, told Today’s Zaman that the project could serve as a model for similar programs in other cities in the future. “Today we can see that German society also places heavy emphasis on the development of cultural and social diversification in the society. Cologne, in this sense, is a good example,” he said, adding that such an achievement will serve Germany’s future. “We will see the benefits in the long run,” Türkoğlu added, emphasizing that Turkish families should be encouraged to enroll their children in such schools.

Making mention of the benefits the project will bring for German students, Cologne Board of Education Director Margarita von Westphalen-Granitzka said not only students from migrant families but also German students will see the benefit of this project as they will learn an extra language, which also means an extra culture.

 

“The project is important in that it will give migrant children the message that they can preserve their own culture while graduating from a German school. A good education in harmony is key to healthy integration,” stated Cologne Integration Council Chairperson Tayfun Keltek, who also delivered a speech at the briefing.
 
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