BERLIN, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, has approved a COVID-19 catch-up program for children and teenagers, the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) announced on Friday.
The program, worth 2 billion euros (2.4 billion U.S. dollars), aimed to support children and young people to catch up on learning deficits caused by school closures and the cancelation of in-class teaching during the COVID-19 crisis, according to the BMBF.
The decision of the Bundesrat was "good news" for students, particularly for underperforming students, said Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek in a statement. It was feared that underperforming students might have fallen further behind as a result of the school closures.
One billion euros would be used for tutoring in the core subjects, according to the BMBF. Through the program, children and young people could receive support, among other things, in dealing with learning gaps caused by pandemics.
The program would also focus on other activities, including promotion of early childhood education, expansion of social work in schools, and support for sports and leisure activities, such as holiday camps, according to BMBF. (1 euro = 1.19 U.S. dollars) Enditem
