Students at the Seden School in Odense on Funen have been banned from speaking their own languages during breaks after a series of incidents in which bi-lingual students are said to have shouted at, or harassed other pupils or teachers.

Students ignoring the ban, introduced by management and teachers in a school in which 30 percent of pupils are bi-lingual, can expect to have their parents called in for consultations, according to the weekend report in Fyens Stiftstidende.

Freedom of speech
The newspaper writes today that Seden School Headmaster Carsten Høyer has now been reported to the police for a breach of the freedom of speech clauses in the Danish constitution.

“It is worrying that the headmaster of a school that has to educate pupils to be citizens in a democracy should introduce restrictions on the freedom of speech. This doesn’t belong in a democracy and is typically something that we see in police states,” says Flemming Leer Jakobsen (Unity List) and editor of the denmarkonline website.

Minister will not intervene
Education Minister Bertel Haarder (Lib) said at the weekend that he has no wish to intervene in the issue, but says that pupils must always respect teachers trying to keep discipline in schools.

“I don’t think that this sanction is particularly serious or a violation. Bad language is not acceptable either in Danish or Arabic. The important thing it to stop it, and not what rules are in place,” Haarder says.

At the same time he says that it is important that the ban is discussed in the School Board – where not all parents agree with the decision.

“We are on the border of what we are permitted to do. It’s OK to say that pupils must answer in Danish, but it is not reasonable to determine that they cannot speak their mother tongue between themselves. I believe in dialogue rather than rules,” School Board Member Brit Bremer Christoffersen tells Fyens Stiftstidende.

Warnings
Several experts have said the ban is discrimination and warn that it may divide the Danish and bi-lingual students.

The ban will continue until January 15 and is currently in place when many pupils are together, and not when two pupils go elsewhere alone to speak to each other.

Apart from the ban on foreign languages, the school has introduced increased monitoring of pupils and a ban on loitering in corridors.