Luxembourg: Teachers’ unions divided over the veil at school
Posted
LuxemburgTeachers’ unions divided on the veil at school
LUXEMBOURG – The SNE/CGFP does not support the claim of SEW-OGBL, which campaigns for a ban on the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in public schools in Luxembourg.
High school girls can wear the veil in Luxembourg.
Editpress
The exit of the SEW-OGBL teachers’ union on the veil at school is not unanimous, including on the side of the unions. Asked by The essentialthe SNE/CGFP spoke out in favor of the 2014 directive from the Ministry of National Education, which pleads for dialogue rather than for the prohibition of ostentatious religious symbols on school grounds: “This directive accepts the principle of neutrality while guaranteeing the freedom of expression of the pupils within the limits of the proper functioning of the school”, indicates Patrick Remakel.
And the president of the teachers’ union to campaign for uniformity in this area via “a single line of conduct for all establishments”. In a position price translated to The essentialSEW-OGBL had demanded the withdrawal of the ministry’s directive considered too permissive, and a new regulation prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols in public schools.
The union has expressed concern about an increase in religious clothing among high school students in Luxembourg, in particular the Islamic veil. The SEW-OGBL fears “a snowball effect” concerning other demands such as the justification of absence for religious holidays or even the questioning of the diversity and content of teaching.
What rules for our neighbors?
Opposed to the implementation of new rules, the Ministry of National Education was less alarmist, stating that the directions “did not report any particular conflicts” related to religious outfits. The subject caused a stir at the start of the school year in France, where an internal note from the Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Delinquency and Radicalization warned against Islamist proselytism in high schools.
A 2004 law prohibits the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in French schools, in the name of secularism. In Belgium, the principle of “pupils’ individual freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and “prohibition of discrimination” apply in secondary education. The wearing of religious symbols can only be prohibited under strict conditions.
In Germany, where regulation is the responsibility of the Länder, the debate has mainly focused on the case of Muslim teachers, since the students are not affected by the bans.