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North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court in Münster (archive image)
Photo: Guido Kirchner / dpa
Catholic primary schools may prefer to accept Catholic children.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Münster made this clear and rejected the complaint of a non-denominational boy from Datteln.
He had already unsuccessfully applied to the Administrative Court of Gelsenkirchen that the state of North Rhine-Westphalia should be obliged to temporarily admit him to a municipal Catholic denominational primary school for the coming school year 2021/2022.
The OVG has now confirmed that the priority given in the state constitution to children belonging to the denomination in access to public denominational schools is compatible with the Basic Law.
In this case, the boy does not have a right to equal treatment.
The preference for students belonging to the denomination is justified when admitting to a public denominational school, because the Basic Law is based on the admissibility of public denominational schools.
Sibling rule does not apply
The reasons from Münster also stated that there was no violation of the constitutional prohibition of discrimination on the basis of belief or religious belief.
An OVG spokesman said that this priority was also given in the case of other religious denominations, for example when Protestant students were admitted to a Protestant school.
Even as a so-called sibling, the boy from Datteln could not be accepted.
His younger siblings should not be enrolled in elementary school until later.
The sibling child regulation presupposes that at the time of the admission decision one or more siblings are already pupils at the school or at least will be in the admission school year.
In addition, the headmistress does not have to classify the boy as a case of hardship.
The "alleged difficulties and dangers on the way to school to two other primary schools" are not significant enough for this.
bbr / dpa / AFP