Every Friday, many German students stay away from lessons to protest climate change and a forward-looking climate policy. Even Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier was already looking at the demonstrations. But the authorities seem to increase the pressure on the students: Several media report on a letter that the Ministry of Education in North Rhine-Westphalia sent to all schools.
This would refer to a decree, which regulates the permanent absence from teaching, writes Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). There it is about "forced feeding" and "misdemeanor", should students stay away from the classroom.
The Swedish student Greta Thunberg had launched the protests against the climate policy. Since last summer, the 16-year-old has been standing in front of the Swedish Parliament every Friday with her sign saying "Skolstrejk för Klimatet". She also spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos about her concerns.
In Germany, the Conference of Ministers of Education had criticized the absence of teaching: "The right to demonstrate can be exercised during the lesson-free period," it said. The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) also warned.
It is unclear whether the letter represents a service instruction, as a spokesman said to the WDR first. The state secretary of the ministry, Mathias Richter, had later withdrawn this and instead of a "schoolmail" spoke, which should remind of the legal framework, writes the WDR.
In the video: Student Protests for Climate Protection - "The adults do not get their turn"
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