Across Germany, there are foreign pupils who barely understand what is going on at school. While there are numerous efforts to integrate the students into regular schooling, there are various hurdles to get migrant children up to speed.

According to the dpa news agency, there are even are eighth-graders (15-year-old learners) who can neither read nor write — let alone express themselves in the language of their adopted home nation or solve complex problem in classes like maths or chemistry.

Over time, there is some hope for improvement, with each successive generation faring better in school; however in the interim, the issue of addressing what to do with foreign learners in Germany remains a policy issue that remains one of the lesser talked-about phenomena linked to migration.

Read AlsoGermany: Immigrant education levels reach new high

School administrators across the country report that they are constantly scrambling for creative solutions, often having to ask other students from similar backgrounds to serve as interpreters; otherwise it would be impossible to communicate with them at all.

Even then, dealing with migrant children can still be difficult: Many have witnessed war and destruction, carrying this trauma with them — in addition to repeated disruptions to their education in the past, says the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB), which is tasked with providing citizenship education and information on political issues in Germany.

"The prevailing view is that these newcomers cannot speak German, and have other shortcomings [affecting their education] as well," says a BPB report dating all the way back to 2017.

Little appears to have changed with those attitudes in the decade since then.

Read AlsoGerman schools face the challenge of integration

No central education system

In Germany, there is no central government authority to coordinate efforts to integrate immigrant children into the public education system; rather this is a matter that is devolved to the individual states of the country, 

Most states have their own version of preparatory classes and curricula to help get foreign learners up to speed — though depending on the number of students affected, a more individual plan might be devised in each case.

The western state of Rhineland-Palatinate is now about to join the group of states that has a formal program for the integration of their foreign children.

These so-called "compass classes" — which are due to be introduced within a couple of weeks at the beginning of the new school year, will be open to children of various ages, focusing chiefly on teaching German.

State of Rhineland-Palatinate to introduce divisive pilot program

Until recently, school-age children from other countries would routinely be integrated into regular classes in Rhineland-Palatinate while also receiving up to 20 hours of intensive German instruction per week — either in addition to or in place of the normal curriculum.

This is now about to change; the first of these 'compass courses' will be run as a pilot in the city of Ludwigshafen, where schools have recently and repeatedly made headlines for violence and discrimination among students.

A statement from authorities in the city of Ludwigshafen explained that initially, there will only be a single class, with more to follow if and as needed; the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Education did not give any additional details about these lessons.

However, the union for professionals in education (GEW) has expressed frustration about this lack of direction in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Stefan Jakobs, co-chair of the state chapter of the union says that there needs to be more guidance on when and how these children will eventually transition from these "compass classes" to regular school lessons.

"We want children to be integrated into a reasonably normal school environment as quickly as possible," he explained, adding that across Germany, the ultimate goal is for migrant children to take part in regular classes.

Read AlsoStudy shows rising education levels among migrant communities in EU

Limited success despite different approaches across states 

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) meanwhile said that it places "great emphasis on the quality of German language instruction in integration courses and vocational language courses." 

However once more, it is mainly the lack of a centralized education system in Germany that appears to create disparities between various states in succeeding with this objective, with some regions aiming for faster integration than others.

In the eastern state of Saxony, it can take well over a full year before a student can be considered for transfer to regular classes, according to the state's Ministry of Education in Dresden.

Meanwhile in the city state of Hamburg, a study found that migrant children in German preparatory classes lagged behind their peers in regular classes in core subjects like maths, and that they were less likely to complete their secondary education to a level that would allow them to attend university.

Perhaps most worryingly, there have been several comparative studies that have concluded that migrant children who partake in various kinds of German preparatory classes actually spoke German worse than their peers who were integrated into a regular class from the start.

Read AlsoSchools survey: Non-German students more likely to 'sit next to a refugee'

No 'one size fits all' solution

Education researcher Oliver Winkler at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (Bamberger Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsverläufe) meanwhile believes that the concept of preparatory classes is not inherently flawed, adding however that "often, they're poorly organized." 

"Too little is being done to motivate the participating children," he highlights, adding that it is not conducive to the children's overall development to club pupils from fifth to tenth grade together in these preparatory class settings.

"That's exactly what you shouldn't do," Winkler criticizes, also pointing at the lack of standardized curricula across the country as one of the main problems.

Another BPB report from 2025 states that "studies show that these special measures often fail to achieve their goal and do not prepare newly arrived students for the academic and language requirements of their grade level."

"As a result, once they are placed in regular classes, they are left to fend for themselves and must find their own way to adapt and cope."

The same, however, is also true for teachers engaged with these pupils, the same report explains: "Teachers often feel overwhelmed and placed under additional strain.

"Furthermore, teachers often feel ill-prepared for the demands associated with working with newly arrived students — for example, with regard to their literacy or when it comes to dealing with their traumas; they often feel they lack professional preparation."

Attitudes towards migrants also inform outcomes

Then there's also the issue of negative prejudice against migrants and their relationship with the education system.

"It is not uncommon to hear the argument that migrant families are themselves responsible for their disadvantaged educational situation. They are said to settle into their ethnic communities instead of consistently learning German and striving for an education," BPB argues, suggesting that such treatment also might influence their success in the education system,

"Immigrants and their descendants are actually very education-conscious, but discrimination prevents them from advancing educationally," the assessment further highlights.

with dpa