The Berlin Senate has ruled that a primary school is allowed to refuse a child’s application because the father is a politician from a far-right party.
The decision was made by the educational oversight commission of the Senate of Berlin, the governing authority of Germany’s capital city.
The father of the child, whose name was not identified as he wished to remain anonymous to protect his family’s privacy, is a politician for the far-right Alternatives for Germany (AfD) party.
The private school in question where the father registered his child, a Waldorf school in south-eastern Berlin, had rejected the youngster’s application last year because the father could “jeopardise school peace through xenophobic or nationalistic statements”.
After lengthy internal meetings involving up to 20 teachers and many talks between the school board and the parents, the Waldorf school had decided to reject the primary school application despite the fact that the child already attended Waldorf’s nursery.
The managing board said at the time that “a consensual solution to the conflict was sought, but could not be reached” and that the school “sees no possibility of accepting the child with the necessary openness and impartiality” which are “basic prerequisites for adequately promoting the child’s development”.
The Berlin Senate has now sided with the school and said that from a legal point of view the decision “cannot be argued with” as private schools can decide themselves who they accept and who not.
It found that the General Law on equal treatment (AGG) was only “limitedly applicable” in the case because it details “discrimination on grounds of race or because of ethnic origin” and not political views.
The AfD faction in the city of Berlin, one of the sixteen federal states of Germany, was angry about the decision.
Berlin’s AfD leader Georg Pazderski said: “Exclusion and family liability violate all principles of a free society and show the difficult relationship between parts of the Senate with the constitution.”
The decision to exclude the child was at the time also criticised by the umbrella organisation of Waldorf schools who said they were “very critical” about the exclusion and wished for the school board to think it over once more.
The AfD politician in question said that he wished that he could separate his private life from his political life.
He said: “We liked this school very much. How can we now explain to our child that his friends may join the Waldorf school next year but that we are not welcome there?”
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Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
