EI has issued a statement condemning the shooting which took place on 11 March in Winnenden, Germany.
A gunman dressed in black combat uniform opened fire at students in the Albertville school, killing at least 10 people and injuring others before fleeing the scene. "EI condemns all forms of violence in schools, which should be safe and secure havens in which students may develop and learn and teachers work in comfort and security," wrote EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. With such attacks becoming increasingly common, EI calls on the international intergovernmental agencies to develop, as a matter of urgency, a regulatory framework for the protection of students and teachers from such violence. Below is the statement in English that EI issued right after the incident. ----------- On behalf of teachers and education workers around the world, Education International extends sincere condolences to the families and school community of the victims of today’s tragic school shooting at the Albertville secondary school in Winnenden, Germany, and to the EI German affiliates, GEW, VBE and BlBs. EI condemns all forms of violence in schools, which should be safe and secure havens in which students may develop and learn and teachers work in comfort and security. EI and its member organisations call on the authorities of Germany and Baden-Württemberg to take concrete steps to ensure that such violence may never again occur in its schools. Hopefully, the authorities can learn from this third tragic incident and introduce measures to protect students who are Germany’s most vulnerable citizens. Such attacks on vulnerable students and teachers have, unfortunately, become increasingly common. EI has called on previous occasions on the international community and governments to recognise and respect the right of all children and adults to a safe education in a peaceful learning environment, and to respect education institutions as safe sanctuaries. EI has also called on governments to take all possible practical measures to protect students, teachers, education officials and union members from the full range of deliberate violent attacks on their way to or from, or at, their places of learning; and to take all possible measures to deter such attacks. EI now calls on the international intergovernmental agencies to develop, as a matter of urgency, a regulatory framework for the protection from violence of students and teachers in schools. It is time for mandatory steps to be taken by school authorities to protect students and education workers in schools. Fred van Leeuwen, General Secretary 11th March, 2009.