Several parliamentary groups in the state parliament are pushing for children with disabilities to be better integrated into the education system in Saxony-Anhalt. “Saxony-Anhalt is obliged to create an inclusive education system,” said Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz. Special schools are not part of an inclusive school system. “No other federal state sends as many children to special schools as Saxony-Anhalt.” Joint instruction must become the norm, said the Green politician.
The Left also called for changes. For more than 15 years, there has been an obligation to implement and enforce the rights of people with disabilities to equal participation in society, said deputy parliamentary group leader Thomas Lippmann. “Under no circumstances should things remain as bad as they are at the moment.”
The SPD also sees a need for action. “It is incomprehensible that the Ministry of Education is planning to send children to a special school with a focus on learning as early as the first grade, without them having previously received support in the flexible school entry phase,” said SPD parliamentary group leader Katja Pähle.
Feußner: Parental wishes of great importance
Education Minister Eva Feußner said that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities does not specify how collaborative learning should be implemented, nor does it specify how the school system should be structured. The parents’ wishes are of great importance, said the CDU politician. One can choose a special needs school or a general school. “Parents are the experts for their child.”
The CDU and FDP factions spoke out in favor of strengthening special needs schools. There are a large number of students whose individual support needs cannot be adequately addressed in regular schools, said MP Jörg Bernstein (FDP). Special needs schools, on the other hand, can address these needs in a targeted manner.
Carsten Borchert (CDU) took a similar view. “The goal must be to help all students to obtain a school qualification based on their personal potential and requirements, and that never works exclusively in regular schools,” he said.
The AfD rejects the concept of inclusion. Deputy parliamentary group leader Hans-Thomas Tillschneider spoke of “inclusion madness”. The topic will now be discussed further in the committees.
