“Fit for the globalised 
world”

Mr. Lauer, Why are German Schools abroad of such particular value?

They are multicultural educational institutions which bring together the best of all systems and never just pursue national aims only. They are open for everything that is good for children. All the pupils we deal with are not only bilingual, their schooling is also multicultural. They thus have a qualification that makes them fit for the era of globalisation. These young people can, if they wish, come to Germany and not only do they then understand the German language, they also understand the country. They can be valuable bridge builders, creating links in both directions. In this connection, people often refer to the Mexican cabinet in which, at one time, four ministers had attended the German Alexander von Humboldt School as children. As we all know, school socialization has lasting effects.

What do you say to those people who regard German Schools abroad merely as educational institutions for expats and an upper class?

Only about one fifth of the pupils at German Schools abroad are Germans; almost four fifths are local 
pupils. Needless to say, we have to offer schooling for German families abroad. Recently a large German company asked us for help because they could not gain employees for an important location in China without there being a school offer. On the other hand, we want to address people in the guest countries who are education-conscious. This is a prerequi­site, because as a rule boys and girls who go to the German Schools sit the exam for the German school-leaving certificate, the Abitur. We have ascertained that generally the pupils at German Schools abroad are very motivated to learn and later often hold outstanding positions. This is not only because their parents are often members of the upper middle class. After all, our schools all work with models of social integration, for example, the so-called new secondary levels. In those cases, the schools deliberately accept children whose parents cannot afford the school fees. When we look at their achievement curve, we see that usually they are super. What the German Schools abroad promote is an educational elite, not a financial elite.

And what about after school?

Although there are no reliable surveys, we do get feedback from the German university landscape. We work closely with the DAAD, which gives full scholarships in the framework of the School Partnership Initiative. That feedback is marvellous. We can safely say that German School leavers and those from schools offering the DSD Language Diploma are altogether successful during their studies in Germany. Generally our alumni do well at university – in other countries too.

There are political indicators that German Schools abroad should become more involved in dual vocational training. Is that realistic?

Dual vocational training is nothing new for the German schools system abroad. It has existed for decades, with a special 
focus on Latin America. There, vocational training centres are directly linked with the German Schools. And in Spain there are independent vocational schools, the FEDA vocational school in Madrid and Barcelona. But it is not always easy, because dual training is unknown in many countries, and it is also ambitious to have it linked with the German language. We have to study precisely how many companies abroad want dual training and are in a position to support it. I consider it to be a sensible objective, however. Our foreign cultural and educational 
policy efforts are informed by the promotion of the German language. In the vocational training sector, however, we must ask how much German is necessary, for example, in industrial-technical professions. We are in the process of developing concepts that have a reduced German
focus so as to avoid a high emphasis on the language acting as a possible barrier. What is more, the whole system needs to be carefully organized. Not only must there be a political remit, but also a guarantee that the budget resources will be available long-term.

Under the heading “special challenges”, what role do German Schools abroad play in transformation societies?

German Schools are institutions which are sometimes more than 100 years old. That is their strength. German Schools are not short-term projects in response to some political situation. Our work can of course strengthen certain impulses and build on the quality of the traditional schools. Take the example of Egypt: we had three large German Schools of widespread repute there and many alumni who benefited from attending them. In fact it influenced them so much that some have founded a German school themselves because the existing ones were not sufficient to cover the needs. We have responded to this interest with our School Partnership Initiative and were able, before the Arab Spring, to include further schools in the circle of 
German Schools abroad. Today Egypt is a priority country. The impact made by the German Schools is long-term. The education provided is based on democracy and values.

Looking ahead: What next for the German Schools abroad?

The huge upward momentum we have registered since the School Partnership Initiative will continue. The number of schools offering the German Language Diploma has increased by 50% to 1,100 since 2008. The German Schools abroad and the DSD Schools have about 430,000 pupils, which corresponds to the number of pupils in the state of Rhineland-Palat­inate. In educational terms, the web portal Auslandsschulnetz, or Network of Schools Abroad, is the 17th federal state. At the World Congress of German Schools Abroad in May 2014 in Berlin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier once again showed how much he supports us. This also applies to the German Bundestag’s sub-committee Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy. But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. We have to keep enhancing the quality. Our schools must continue to be among the best. And we will ensure that the social components are not neglected. We have to further promote the feature of inclus­ive, integrated learning, so that the 
German Schools abroad are also understood as Gemeinschaftsschulen, genuinely comprehensive schools. ▪