Right at the beginning of the article, we make a contradiction: The number of private schools in Germany is growing rapidly. Long ago they ceased to be the exclusive preserve of the middle-class elite. Despite all this, the sword of Damocles of increasing educational inequality hangs over the German school system. The goal of access to education for all is still a long way off. Why?
Private or private schools? The run on education
After the summer vacation, first-graders everywhere are rushing to a wide variety of educational institutions – with expectations, concerns and wishes in their luggage. Some parents share the concerns of their children. Bullying in schoolyards, cancelled classes and dilapidated school buildings make parents' ears prick up. Starting school ends an odyssey for many fathers and mothers. Months, even years in advance, they attended "open days" at private school institutions to explore alternatives, checked out the public elementary school in their area that was responsible for them, considered switching to other public schools in the vicinity.
If one decides to hand over the institutional responsibility for the education of one's offspring to a private school, many parents begin to worry about school admission. Because not only the parents make a choice, also the schools.
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