Greek-German ‘Europaschule’ in Berlin to be Closed

The decision of the German Ministry of Education of the State of Berlin to close the Greek-German European public school while more and more young German and Greek children are interested in attending this unique school, has caused many reactions among the concerned parents, who see the future of their children being caught up in politics.

Back in the 90’s, the “Europaschule,” as it’s called in German, was developed as an innovative school, where pupils would attend lessons taught both in German and in another EU language. Among the nine languages was also Greek. Today, there are two Greek primary education schools in Berlin, which pupils get to attend until the sixth grade, as well as a high school, from which pupils can graduate both with a Greek and German diploma. The first Europaschule, Homer, which is up for closure, is located in the eastern Berlin borough of Pankow and the other one, Athene, is located in the western borough of Steglitz.

A German pupil’s father visiting this school mentioned, “the school gives my daughter the opportunity to learn two languages and decide later between studying in Germany or in Greece, as she will be able to speak and write in both languages.”

Last September the parents of the pupils were informed that the Greek-German Homer school was to be transformed into a regular German-speaking school, in order to facilitate the growing education demand of the borough. New students wishing to attend the Greek-German school should enroll at the Athene school.

The Homer school was established in this building 20 years ago for the exact opposite reason recalls Maria Aplada, member of the initiative for saving the school; the German school was housed there and was up for closure as it didn’t have enough students.

Meanwhile, if this school is eventually shut down, families living in the eastern borough of the German capital won’t be able to send their children to the other school, as the 16km distance between the two schools equals two hours in Berlin rush hour traffic.

Authorities also didn’t take under consideration another fact, says Aplada. “Many families are currently migrating from Greece to Germany, while there are also many young people who will have children and will want to pursue a Greek education for them.”