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© 2001
Reform in Saxony threatens Sorbian school
Brussels 08/08/01 , by Margret Oberhofer
'You can't put up a hurdle for a giant and ask the dwarf to jump over it. You also can't have the same measures regarding the number of students for a school class for the Sorbian minority and the rest of Germany,' Bozena Paulik, from the WITAJ-language centre at Domowina explains.
A school reform in Saxony threatens the existence of a secondary school in Crostwitz, a Sorbian community close to the city of Bautzen. The new regulation demands that each secondary school establish at least two parallel classes with 25 students in each grade. After protests, in fear of school closures in the whole region, the authorities lowered the requirements to 20 children in rural areas.
For the Sorbian minority this means that as from tomorrow, the official start of the school year, there will be no fifth grade in the secondary school in Crostwitz. 17 students from the fifth grade in the 'most Sorbian village in the area', as Paulik calls Crostwitz, are forced to go to neighbouring schools.
'Its not the few kilometres to the next school that is the problem. But a school is much more than a place to mediate knowledge: It's an institutional language space that encourages the use of Sorbian', Paulik tells Eurolang.
'The protection and the support of Sorbian can't be linked to numbers that are for the majority', says Jurij Wuschansky, responsible for public relations at Domowina, the major organisation of the Sorbian minority. Paulik agrees and says 'if you take minority support seriously, you should put up a ladder to give the minorities the change to climb the hurdle.'
The Saxon authorities however see the issue differently. 'Sorbians already get special treatment in school matters, but we have to draw the line somewhere. To open a class with 17 students wouldn't be understandable for the majority. Furthermore, we also have to guarantee a certain quality of schools results, which includes students being able to choose between different profiles in school. This is impossible with such a small student number', Steffen Grosse, spokesman for the Ministry of Education and Arts of Saxony, tells Eurolang.
'But the situation of Sorbian is precarious; we can't afford to give up a grade in secondary school', Paulig explains. The school in the village of Crostwitz, with its 1.200 inhabitants, is one of six schools where Sorbian is taught, 'but the only one where students use Sorbian also outside the classroom.'
The Ministry of Education and Arts in Saxony announced already in March that they wouldn't support the fifth grade anymore. 'The administrative tribunal of Dresden hasn't complained about our decision and agreed with our arguments', Grosse explains.
The community of Crostwitz tried to delay the decision, complaining to the authorities over the fact that the community couldn't get a special status in the question of student numbers. 'We are now appealing to the higher administrative tribunal of Saxony. We want to protest the result and show that the Sorbian parents are not just accepting the situation', Paulik says.(EL)
Sorbian community
protest closure of fifth grade in school by maintaining classes
Brussels 14/08/01 , by Margret Oberhofer
Since the official school start last Thursday, 17 parents and their children are protesting against the closure of fifth grade at the secondary school in Crostwitz, a Sorbian community close to the city of Bautzen in Germany. The closure is based on a decision by the Ministry of Education and Arts in Saxony, saying that there are not enough students to fulfil the requirements. The students are now forced to attend school in the neighbouring village Räckelwitz. The students protest against the decision by maintaining the regular school schedule in their old school in Crostwitz. Seven retired teachers are teaching them on voluntary and unpaid basis.
'The parents will send their children to their local school until a decision is made by the Ministry of Education and Arts,' says Manuela Schmole, from the WITAJ-language centre, and also one of the teachers taking care of the lessons in Crostwitz.
Communication however seems to be stuck because both parties refuse to give in on the conditions they have set up. Minister of State, Matthias Rösler, stresses in a letter to Domowina, the major organisation for the Sorbian minority 'that the condition for talks is that students go duly to the other Sorbian school in Räckelwitz.'
'The decision to close the fifth grade in Crostwitz stands firm. We hope however that the parents stick to the promise they made before the school start, to send their children to Räckelwitz. The teachers there are waiting for them', Steffen Grosse, spokesman for the Ministry of Education and Arts of Saxony tells Eurolang. Extra staff has been recruited to meet the demand of the extended number of students.
Domowina stresses once more in a cry for help to the United Nations today that it's not the four kilometre distance to the other school that is the problem: 'Sorbian schools and kindergartens have not only a educational function, but play a very important role in the development of the national identity of the adolescents. A Sorbian school in the village is a symbol for the high cultural value of the Sorbian language for the Sorbian families'.
Several European organisations agree with Domowina and emphasise the importance of minority schools. 'Problems of minorities can't be treated in same way as majority issues. In the framework convention for the protection of national minorities Germany oblige itself to consider the special conditions for minorities. But the decisions of the Ministry of Arts and the administrative tribunal of Dresden are obviously ignoring this principle', states Romedi Arquint, President of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN).
The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) also criticises the fact that the same measures are used for minority and majority. Tilman Zülch, Secretary General of GfbV, sees the closure of the school 'as the beginning of a governmentally supported death of a minority language'.
Behind the decision to close the fifth grade is a school reform in Saxony, demanding each secondary school to establish at least two parallel classes with 25 students in each - or 20 students in rural areas in each grade. The new regulation lead to protests and school closures in the whole region. (EL)
Sorbs find European Commission opinion on school closure 'shocking'
Brussels 12/12/01 , by Margret Oberhofer
While Sorbs keep protesting against the closure of a Sorbian school class with press releases and appeals, Hans Modrow, MEP of the Party for Democratic Socialism in Germany, submitted a written question on the issue to the European Commission. The politician, who belongs to the European United Left/Nordic Green Left, points out that 'this measure of the Free State of Saxony would violate the right of the Sorbian people to promote their Slavic language and to protect their identity.' Representatives of the Sorbian minority are shocked by António Vitorino's (Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs) recent reply on behalf of the European Commission.
'The answer shows that the Commission hasn't examined the Sorbian situation in detail', says Jan Nuck, President of the Sorbian umbrella organisation Domowina based in Bautzen. 'There's no sense to find out how many rights the Sorbs have, if you don't look at how they are really being implemented in their area.' Nuck refers to the fact that according to the Commission the 'protection of minorities appears to be deeply anchored in German law.' The European Commission states that there are 57 schools in Saxony offering education in Sorbian. 4100 pupils, including 1400 native speakers, attend these schools. 'But in most of these schools Sorbian is only a voluntary subject, with maximum three hours of lessons a week. It's clear that in such little time there won't be any results in the end. At least 50 percent of the classes should be taught in Sorbian to keep the language alive', says Nuck.
One of the schools, where at least half of the classes were in Sorbian, was closed down at the beginning of this school year. In its answer the Commissions states that 'no one disputes the right of the Domowina to set up Sorbian schools 'but according to 'the second paragraph of Article 14 of the framework convention, the State is required to manage these schools only where there is 'sufficient demand' from pupils.'
The question of 'sufficient demand' is crucial in this debate. According to a school reform in Saxony, each secondary school has to have at least two parallel classes with 25 students in each grade. After protests in fear of school closures in the whole region, the authorities lowered the requirements to 20 children in rural areas. But still, it is not enough for the Sorbian minority as there are only 17 students in the fifth grade in Crostwitz, a Sorbian community with 1.200 inhabitants close to the city of Bautzen. The Sorbs protested several weeks by maintaining the original school schedule on a voluntary and unpaid basis. Now the students are forced to go to neighbouring schools.
In his written question MEP Modrow also asked if minority rights will be on the agenda at the next Intergovernmental Conference in order 'to deal in a concrete way with the issue'. As an example Modrow suggests 'drawing up a binding Charter on the rights of ethnic minorities and small peoples laying down the collective right to linguistic and cultural institutions such as schools.' In the answer of the Commission Vitorino says that the agenda of the IGC has not yet been drawn up, 'however the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union will be part of the debate of the future of the Union'. He refers in this context to the fact that the Charter also includes two articles protecting linguistic rights: Article 21 (1), which prohibits any discrimination based, among others, on ethnic origin, language, religion or membership of a national minority and Article 22 , which requires respect for cultural, religious an linguistic diversity. (EL)
Børnene går i skole som de plejer i den
sorbiske by Crostwitz. De må de bare ikke, fordi deres klasse
er blevet sparet væk. Børn, forældre og lærere protesterer, de kræver særlige
vilkår til sorbiske børn ifølge reglerne om beskyttelse af mindretal.
Siden sommerferien i Sachsen sluttede sidste uge torsdag, har 17 forældre og
deres børn protesteret mod lukningen af en femte klasse i realskolen i Crostwitz,
som er en sorbisk landsby i nærheden af Bautzen. Lukningen bygger på en beslutning
fra Sachsens uddannelsesminister, der hævder, at der ikke er nok elever til
at opfylde kravene til en klasse. I stedet skal eleverne fremover køre til nabobyen
Rückelwitz. Eleverne protesterer ved at følge deres almindelige timeplan på
deres gamle skole i Crostwitz. Syv pensionerede lærere underviser dem - kvit
og frit.
'Forældrende vil sende deres børn i den lokale skole, indtil undervisningsministeren
har truffet en beslutning', siger Maneula Schmole fra WITAJ-sprogcentret, som
er en af lærerne, der underviser i Crostwitz.
Men samtalen ser ud til at være gået i stå, for begge parter har tilkendegivet,
at de ikke vil flytte sig. Viceministeren i ministeriet, Matthias Rössler, har
i et brev til sorbernes hovedorganisation, Domowina, skrevet, at der ikke er
noget grundlag for samtaler, så længe børnene ikke følger undervisningen i den
sorbiske skole i Rückelwitz.
'Beslutningen
om at lukke femte klasse i Crostwitz står fast. Men vi håber, at forældrene
vil holde sig til deres løfte om at sende børnene til skolen i Rückelwitz. Lærerne
der venter på dem', siger Steffen Grosse, talsmanden for undervisningsministeriet
i Sachsen. Der er blevet ansat nye lærere til at tage imod børnene der.
Domowina understreger i et nødråb til de Forenede Nationer, FN, i går, at problemet
ikke er de fire kilometers afstand til mellem Crostwitz og Rückelswitz. 'Sorbiske
skoler og børnehaver har ikke blot en uddannelsesfunktion. De spiller også en
vigtig rolle i udviklingen af identiteten hos de unge. En sorbisk skole i landsbyen
er symbolet på den høje, kulturelle værdi af det sorbiske sprog for de sorbiske
familier, hedder det blandt andet i henvendelsen'.
Flere europæiske organisationer er enige med Domowina og understreger vigtigheden
af mindretals-skoler.
'Mindretalles problemer kan ikke blive behandlet på samme måde som flertallets
problemer. I rammekonventionen for beskyttelsen af mindretal forpligter Tyskland
sig til at tage hensyn til de særlige betingelser for mindretallene. Men undervisningsministeriet
og forvaltningsretten i Dresden ser ud til at se bort fra dette princip', siger
Romedi Arquint, formand for den europæiske mindretalssammenslutning FUEN.
Også det tyske Selskab for truede folk, GfbV, kritiserer, at der bliver anvendt
de samme kriterier for mindretallet som for flertallet. Tilman Zülch, der er
generalsekretær for selskabet, betragter skolelukningen som 'starten på en regeringsstøttet
drab på et mindretalssprog.'
Bag beslutningen om at lukke femte klasse ligger en skolereform i Sachsen, der
kræver, at alle realskoler mindst skal kunne oprette to klasser med 25 elever
i hver per årgang, i landområder kan tallet dog gå ned på 20 elever. Den nye
regel har ført til skolelukninger og protester i hele delstaten. (EL)
Germany: Sorbs
protest in Dresden during Schröder's visit
11/04/00
News
Germany: Sorbs protest in Dresden during Schröder's visit
Representatives of the Sorbian minority in eastern Germany will protest in Dresden today during a visit by Chancellor Schröder, to express their concern at a recent government decision to cut their funding. The Sorbian organisation Domowina has already claimed that the Chancellor promised, in December 1998, to maintain the level of funding at 16 million DM (8.2 million Euro) for the Foundation for the Sorbian People (Stiftung für das sorbische Volk).
However, the government
has recently announced its intention to reduce the annual Federal funding -
administered by the Minister for Culture, Michael Naumann - to 14 million DM
(7.2 million Euro), representing a cut of over 12 percent. Sorb, a Slavic language,
is spoken by up to 100,000 persons spread throughout Brandenburg and Saxony.
The Sorbs nearly always form the minority in a majority German population; there
are only a few villages where Sorb is spoken by most of the population. Although
the minority has since the Treaty of German Unification in 1990 been guaranteed
financial support from the German government, the text of the treaty does not
stipulate the amount of the annual subvention. (...)