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Empty classroom: Private school in Lübeck sues against closure
Photograph:
Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/ DPA
The dispute over the closure of the Free Village School Lübeck ends up in court. The school is taking legal action against the revocation of the substitute school permit by the Ministry of Education. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the administrative court on Thursday.
Accordingly, the school also applied to the court to restore the suspensive effect of the action against the revocation. Without the lawsuit, the school would have to close this Friday at the latest. The court spokesman said the case had not yet been decided.
The Kiel Ministry of Education had revoked the approval for the school on 19 May. Several inconsistencies were cited as justification. According to the information, unannounced inspections in February and March were attended by considerably fewer than the 55 students registered. In addition, there were only two teachers on site, although according to the plan there should have been more. In its decision, the ministry speaks of normal administrative action by the school inspectorate.
Allegations against the ministry
The school management of the Free Village School, on the other hand, accuses the ministry of making a political decision. The facility had never violated the concept approved by the ministry in 2015, headmistress Andrea Buchholz said a few days after the decision.
"From our point of view, the current ministry management is not interested in a pluralistic school world in Schleswig-Holstein." This can be seen, among other things, in the fact that under the leadership of Minister Karin Prien (CDU), the establishment of free schools is very difficult or impossible, said Buchholz.
The ministry rejects this accusation: "In Schleswig-Holstein, there is a good cooperation between public and private schools," said spokesman David Ermes. According to the Education Act, lessons at school must always be given in presence. "Online teaching is only permitted in very exceptional cases of special need and may not take place as a rule, as is practiced in the Free Village School." The obligation to attend classes also applies to alternative schools.
The school management admits mistakes here. The school acknowledged that the documentation of different learning settings was not understandable to the authorities. "We want to change that," said Buchholz. The concept of the private school includes, among other things, digital learning and learning in extracurricular places.
The revocation of the substitute school permit is effective immediately, and the school is thus closed. According to the ministry, however, there is a one-week deadline before school operations must be completely suspended. "All students have the opportunity to be accommodated at a public school near their respective homes," said the ministry spokesman. Admission to other alternative schools such as the Lübeck Waldorf School could also be arranged.
fok/dpa