In a recent interview with RTL, the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) has criticised the Luxembourgish government's introduction of French literacy programmes, accusing them of "dividing society".

"We already have a 'Francophonisation' of our society, and now our schools are next. I think we are going to lose our multilingualism, Luxembourgish and German too, in the long run. This will greatly affect the country's identity and the functioning of society. We must be aware of the deception that Mr Meisch is perpetrating. Gradually, so that no one notices. We are no longer building traditional secondary schools, only international schools. This is an implosion of our school system as we know it, which guarantees coexistence, integration and the preservation of our traditional multilingualism", says Fred Keup.

In response to the ADR MP's criticism, Democratic Party (DP) Minister for Education Claude Meisch describes Fred Keup's statements as "factually inaccurate" arguing that "every child should be given equal educational opportunities".

The Education Minister argues that the MP is ignoring critical realities:

"That is what the Pisa, the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET), and the University of Luxembourg's education reports say: foreign children are disadvantaged in our school system. We want to change this. We would like to offer equal educational opportunities to every child, regardless of their cultural and linguistic background. It is a question of humanity and ethics. I therefore believe that it is our duty, and also economically beneficial, to ensure that every child can develop their full potential."

The Education Minister continued by rejecting the ADR parliamentary group leader's other claim that French literary programmes would separate children. In fact, Minister Meisch clarified that pupils will be together for two-thirds of class time, and for nearly half of that time, pupils will be able to speak Luxembourgish. So there is no "francophonisation of the school system", insists the minister.

The ADR "misunderstands facts and would like to leave things as they are, but that does not work", Claude Meisch continues.

We are dealing here with politicians "who are no longer just right-wing conservatives", Claude Meisch added.