The state government's decision not to offer Turkish as a second foreign language in Hesse for the time being was met with regret and incomprehension by representatives of parents, teachers and students.

State student representatives, the Education and Science Union (GEW), the Hesse Parents' Association, the Turkish Parents' Association and the Turkish Community in Germany spoke of a "great disappointment" in a joint statement.

The Ministry of Education announced a few days ago that the Hessian educational institutions could offer Portuguese and Arabic as a second or third foreign language from the 2023/2024 school year - provided there is sufficient demand.

Matthew Trautsch

Coordination report Rhein-Main.

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Turkish as a second or third foreign language, on the other hand, will only exist as a pilot project for the time being: A pilot project is to start at two European schools in Kassel and Lollar in the 2022/2023 school year, with other schools following a year later.

For the 2024/2025 school year, the transition from the experiment to a general range of courses is planned if there is sufficient demand.

However, the associations see this as insufficient: A pilot project will only delay the general introduction and possibly even prevent it.

"The efforts that have been going on for more than 20 years with the participation of the Turkish communities in Germany are still being rejected without any concrete justification or are being deported to hopeless pilot projects," says the joint statement.

Turkish must have the same status as Arabic and Portuguese in the near future.

So far, depending on what is available locally, students in Hesse have been able to choose the foreign languages ​​English, French, Latin, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Polish and ancient Greek.

"Turkish could make it easier to understand German everyday life"

The associations point out that 350,000 people in Hesse speak Turkish or have a Turkish-speaking background.

In contrast to other foreign languages ​​offered at school, Turkish can also make it easier to understand everyday German life, said Helen Hoffmann, representative of the state students.

A comprehensive introduction in schools is therefore overdue.

Atila Karabörklü, federal and state chairman of the Turkish community in Germany and Hesse, said: "When it comes to Turkish, a pattern becomes apparent in Hesse: on the one hand, the willingness to make progress is publicly stated, on the other hand, an attempt is made to achieve this in practice To tactically prevent and block progress through so-called pilot projects.” The pilot project is a “deceptive package”, neither Kassel nor Lollar are suitable for determining the need for Turkish as a second foreign language.

"The introduction of Turkish is once again set hurdles that no other foreign language had to overcome." It was a political decision by the Ministry of Education and the black-green government coalition.

The state chairman of the Education and Science Union, Thilo Hartmann, called for the "reality of life" of many pupils to be recognized by introducing the native language spoken in the families as a regular subject.

This can also help to break down prejudices.

Parents' Association chairman Korhan Ekinci said the Ministry of Education's approach came "dangerously close to institutional discrimination."

Representatives of the opposition in the state parliament had previously criticized the decision against Turkish as a second foreign language.

The SPD MP Turgut Yüksel spoke of a "discriminatory policy".

FDP politician Moritz Promny said: "Turkish has a special meaning for our country and belongs in the foreign language catalog of the Hessian schools."