Border school students in need: family move due to school crisis in Zgorzelec!

Border school students in need: family move due to school crisis in Zgorzelec!

Today, Görlitz is looking forward to an exciting development in the field of education, which is characterized by close cooperation with the neighboring city of Zgorzelec in Poland. Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer recently visited the Tecza School in Zgorzelec and was enthusiastic about the bilingual education that the institution offers as part of the DPFA academy group. The school teaches up to high school level and has received several awards for its cross-border work, such as Sächsische reported.

However, there are significant hurdles for German students who want to go to school in Poland. The case of a Polish student who moved with his family from Görlitz to Zgorzelec illustrates the difficulties. In order to be able to attend school, an exception application was necessary from the State Office for Schools and Education in Saxony (Lasub), which was only approved for one year. After this time, the application was not extended, which forced the family to return to Görlitz. Kretschmer noted that this problem is not sufficiently taken into account in the Saxon school law, which has been in force since its last revision in August 2024.

Bureaucratic hurdles and solutions

Conflicts continue to arise in the debate about the school attendance rights of students from Zgorzelec. While attending school for Polish children in Germany is uncomplicated - a small form is often enough - things are much more difficult for German students. Parents need an exemption in order to be able to enroll their children in Polish schools. Sabine Euler, who has been campaigning for changes to the school law for years, emphasizes the need for exceptions for children in the border region. Their efforts are in line with the efforts to simplify the application process, which is currently still in review status, as Antenne Sachsen reports.

Another aspect that should not be missing from the discussion are the plans of the Görlitz city council. The Motor Görlitz parliamentary group would like to raise the issue in the city council in order to force discussions with the responsible authorities with the aim of creating a Saxon school law that includes specific exceptions for the border region. Kretschmer encouraged students to organize their own events to promote cooperation between Görlitz and Zgorzelec.

The future of education in the border region

A common concern of mayors of both cities is the creation of an intergovernmental agreement to minimize the bureaucratic burden for individual applications. The Lasub spokesman emphasized that exemptions are usually granted provided the relevant evidence and reasons are available. In addition to the school type in Saxony, a pilot project could also be launched to make school attendance across the border completely easier.

As it currently stands, there are many children in Zgorzelec who go to school in Görlitz - the German-Polish relationship in the education sector is strong and will continue to be promoted. Attending school at both ends of the level brings numerous benefits, including growing up bilingually and providing students with excellent networking, which can be invaluable for their future.

The exciting developments surrounding the school law situation in the border region promise to generate a lot more discussion and challenge those responsible to finally proactively address the pressing problems. It is to be hoped that the coming months will bring a rethink in politics in order to further improve school education in Görlitz and Zgorzelec.