Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Update on Germany and Homeschooling

Blogdial has an update on the homeschooling situation in Germany. He tells us that according to Christian Broadcasting Network,

" A report from the U.S. State Department on human rights abuses to be released next year will include Germany's harsh treatment of homeschoolers, CBN News sources say. "

We will be looking out for it.

What seems to be certain is that the UN Special Rapporteur had this to say about homeschooling in Germany, (page 16, paragraph 62):

"According to reports received, it is possible that, in some Länder, education is understood exclusively to mean school attendance. Even though the Special Rapporteur is a strong advocate of public, free and compulsory education, it should be noted that education, it should be noted that education may not be reduced to mere school attendance and that educational processes should be strengthened to ensure that they always and primarily serve the best interests of the child. Distance learning methods and homeschooling represent valid options which could be developed in certain circumstances, bearing in mind that parents have the right to choose the appropriate type of education for their children, as stipulated in article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The promotion and development of a system of public, government-funded education should not entail the suppression of forms of education that do not require attendance at a school.. In this context, the Special Rapporteur received complaints about threats to withdraw the parental rights of parents who chose home-schooling methods for their children. "

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