Compulsory Schooling : Germany

School attendance is compulsory from the ages of six to 18, i.e. for 12 years. To satisfy the compulsory schooling requirement, pupils must attend a full-time school for nine (in some states ten) years and thereafter attend a part-time vocational school (Berufsschule) to satisfy the compulsory vocational schooling requirement unless they continue their schooling at a full-time general education or vocational secondary school. Attendance at all public schools is free of charge. Educational materials, especially textbooks, are also frequently provided free of charge or on loan; when possession of such materials passes to the pupils, parents may be required to contribute to the costs on the basis of their income.

The Basic Law requires that religious instruction be included in the curriculum, except in non-denominational schools. Pursuant to the Basic Law, parents and guardians have the right to decide whether children receive religious instruction. Starting at age 12, however, the Act on the Religious Education of Children stipulates that the parents’ decision be subject to the child’s consent. Upon attaining the age of 14, pupils are entitled to make this decision themselves unless state law provides otherwise. The significance of denominational schools - i.e. schools in which all instruction is oriented toward a specific religious denomination - has decreased. Most states have instituted interdenominational schools oriented toward Christian principles in which only religious instruction is given in denominationally separate classes.

As a rule, boys and girls are in mixed classes. The Basic Law also guarantees the right to establish and operate private schools. If these schools are alternatives to public schools, they are subject to state approval. Alternative schools have no authority to administer examinations and issue report cards and certificates pursuant to the provisions in effect for public schools until they have been awarded state recognition by the educational authorities of the states. Private schools enrich the educational spectrum and receive financial support from the states. More and more pupils in Germany are attending private schools; during the 1995/96 school year, enrollment at the country’s 2,121 private schools totaled about 490,000. 44 percent of the pupils attending private schools were enrolled at grammar schools (Gymnasium), 13 percent at Free Waldorf Schools and 10 percent at private special schools.