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A Bavarian court confirmed that elementary school students could also be expected to wear the mask
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / picture alliance / dpa
Primary school pupils can also be expected to wear a mask in class.
That was decided by the Bavarian Administrative Court on Tuesday in an urgent decision.
However, the children must be allowed to take off the mouth and nose protection during the break - outdoors and while maintaining the minimum distance.
The court justified its decision by stating that it could not be ruled out that younger schoolchildren could transmit the coronavirus.
The mask is therefore a "proportionate protective measure to curb the spread".
Because the children have no chance to refuse the mask because of compulsory schooling, they must be given the opportunity to take a break.
According to the court, they would also have asked pediatricians.
Since the end of the autumn break, all age groups in Bavaria have to wear a mask in class.
In most of the other federal states this only applies to the older age groups.
Politics and associations disagree
There is a controversial debate about the mask requirement in primary schools.
Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) had only spoken out on Tuesday in the "Rheinische Post" for a mask requirement in the classroom also in elementary schools.
"I know that keeping a mask on over the hours is a strenuous process, especially for smaller children," she said.
"But that's just a way of dealing that you can perhaps learn."
Stefanie Hubig, Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Education and President of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), does not currently consider a mask requirement for primary school students to be necessary in class.
Small children are not the carriers of corona infections, said the SPD politician in Mainz on Tuesday.
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Ilka Hoffmann from the Education and Science Union (GEW) said: "Compulsory masks in primary schools are very problematic from an educational point of view."
Children are dependent on facial expressions when learning to read and write and also for emotional reasons.
Hoffmann also suspected that masks restrict the children's ability to concentrate and could lead to discomfort.
She emphasized that masks are no substitute for distance, ventilation and hygiene.
"Where you failed to upgrade during the summer vacation".
The Association of Education and Upbringing (VBE), however, cautiously agreed to the mask requirement.
The federal chairman Udo Beckmann wrote that the minimum distance could not be maintained in schools at the moment.
Especially in areas with high numbers of new infections, wearing a mask can help prevent new infections.
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