In Hesse, 2100 school-age children simply “went underground”

• OfPeter Hanack

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Due to Corona, teachers lost all contact with many students, they no longer took part in lessons. The numbers are particularly high in Frankfurt and Offenbach. Some types of school are particularly affected.

According to the Hessian Ministry of Culture, more than 2,100 students were permanently without classes during the corona pandemic. They were reported by the schools as “submerged”. The actual numbers are likely to be far higher.

Closed schools, lessons at best from a distance, hardly any contact with their peers and little support at home: In recent months there have been numerous reasons why children and young people have lost contact with school and learning. The first concrete figures are now available from Hessen.

More than 200 days of absence

As the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs announced at the request of the SPD member of the state parliament, Nadine Gersberg, the state school authorities in Hesse recorded exactly 2,126 students as no longer accessible from March 2020 (the first lockdown) to February 2021 (the end of the school half-year). These children and adolescents each accumulated an average of around 200 days of absence, so they were virtually out of contact with their teachers for almost the entire period at school.

The numbers are particularly high in Offenbach and Frankfurt, and there especially at secondary schools, secondary schools and comprehensive schools. In Frankfurt, for example, 159 children and young people from elementary, secondary and secondary schools had disappeared from the scene, 107 from comprehensive schools and only three from grammar schools. In Offenbach there were 169 at elementary, secondary and secondary schools, 140 at comprehensive schools and eight at grammar school.

However, only those school-age children were counted who were also reported as “submerged” by teachers or schools. Regular participation in distance learning or absenteeism was not systematically recorded. It can therefore be assumed that the number of unreported cases is considerable.

“Learned as little in distance lessons as in the holidays”

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