Eurolink News

Irish citizen challenges European Commission over German home-school ban (18/7/08)

July 18, 2008 at 9:34 am Leave a comment

An Irishwoman married to a South African has travelled to Brussels in a bid to allow her teach her children at home. Catherina Groeneveld and her family are temporarily living in Germany, however they expect to move back to Ireland in a number of years. The couple would prefer to educate their children at home, because Mr Groeneveld’s job as an aerospace engineer will require frequent changes of residence that they fear could upset their children’s schooling. However the Groenevelds found that not only was home schooling illegal in Germany, but that they and other families who chose to educate their children at home were subject to persistent harassment by local authorities.
The petition to the EU, supported by Ireland South MEP Kathy Sinnott, claims that as an Irish citizen, Ms Groeneveld has a constitutional right to educate her children. It also states that Germany’s position as the only European country to ban home schooling is in clear contradiction to EU law facilitating the mobility of workers within the bloc.
Independent MEP Sinnott says the case has implications far beyond the family concerned, as it deals with the need for family friendly employment policies to be recognised throughout the EU. ‘There should be flexibility in the education of children temporarily resident in other countries because of their parent’s work requirements,’ said the MEP.
The Commission has responded to the petition by offering to begin dialogue on the issue with the German government. It is already preparing a report highlighting abuses by German education authorities towards non-German parents, and has promised to include this petition in the report.

Entry filed under: Children and the EU, Education and the EU, EU Petitions. Tags: .