Press release of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony from 25.03.2022:

"Daycare centers and schools are already stretched to the limit. Nursery teachers and teaching staff have had two very stressful coronavirus years. The admission of children and young people from Ukraine therefore poses major challenges for facilities, schools and local authorities," explains the President of the Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony (NST), Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel (City of Salzgitter), adding: "We expressly welcome the state's move to temporarily make the standards more flexible in the sense of a toolbox. I am pleased that my appeal of the same name from my speech on association policy at the municipal assembly on March 9, 2022 has been taken up."

"The state has complied with the demands of the working group of municipal umbrella organizations and has thus recognized that this is the only way to ensure that refugee children can be cared for and educated as quickly as possible," adds NST Vice President, Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann (City of Oldenburg). "Despite all the praise, however, we now also expect statements from the state regarding the financing of additional childcare services outside the framework of daycare centers in particular," Klingebiel and Krogmann added in unison.

Background:

The municipal umbrella organizations had already sent Minister Tonne a paper on 17.03.22 with solutions and demands with regard to the admission of children from Ukraine to daycare and school. Only in the last few days has there been movement in the discussion between the state and local authorities, culminating today in a press release by the minister announcing a "flexibility offensive" in daycare centres and schools. The state has thus largely adopted the demands of the local authorities.