Who doesn't dress properly at school get sent home?

2023-09-12 10:06:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Federal Parents' Council in Germany spoke clearly for dress codes in schools, but the Federal Students' Conference criticized the proposal. German schools have other, more important problems.

Restrictions on schoolchildren's clothing in Germany? The Federal Council of Parents in Germany has proposed rules to limit sloppy and exaggerated clothing in German schools. "We recommend that schools find consensus through the dress code," council president Christian Gotte told German media group Funke. Such a consensus should be further reflected in the school's regulations, and a violation of the rules would thus have consequences. "In such a case, a student can be sent home to dress appropriately," Gotte declares.

There are other priorities!

But the Federal Conference of Students in Germany, BSK has criticized this proposal. "There are more urgent problems that require our attention," KSK general secretary Wiebke Maibaum declared in Berlin. The quality of education, digital equipment in schools and teaching support are top priorities, the Federal Conference of Students announced. The KSB respects the position of the Parents' Council, but "the freedom of education and the prioritization of the most acute problems in education policy are of decisive importance." According to KSK, a "well-balanced balance of individual freedom and appropriate rules for schools" is needed.

Like the students, the German Teachers' Association and the Education Association opposed the rules set for school dress by the Federal Council of Parents. According to the head of the Teachers' Association, Stefan Düll, "we in Germany, because of our history, are oriented differently towards freedom, self-determination and maturity". Dülls, who expressed to the German media group, Funke, said that loose, non-formal clothing is "a general social trend", but it is clear that "school is not a beach either, and children and young people are at risk from pornography in internet clubs. "

Interference with the right to self-determination?

While the Association for Education and Education calls the establishment of the dress code in schools as an intervention in the right of self-determination of parents and children, as said by its chairman, Tomi Neckov. According to him, uniform clothing does not solve the issue of social injustice. Low-income families would be more burdened.

But according to Gotte, in most cases it is about "inappropriate, sloppy, torn or very exaggerated clothing." Mothers especially face discussions in the mornings about children's clothing, said Gotte, who admits that a general dress code in Germany's federal education system is practically unenforceable. The reason for this debate in Germany is the latest regulation in France. There, President Emmanuel Macron recently spoke about uniform clothing in schools./ DW