Students participating in the Islamic ‘Eid Al-Fitr’ festival celebrating the end of the Ramadan fast were absent from their classrooms Wednesday - many without permission.
Most schools allowed Muslim children to take Tuesday off for the celebration. And although some schools also gave such permission for Wednesday, many did not, and those absences are considered truant.
The absences are most evident at schools where the majority of students are Muslim, such as Tovshøjskolen in the Jutland town of Brabrand. Of the school’s 350 students, 80 did not show up on Wednesday.
‘We naturally respect Islamic holy days, and those children also get another day off during the year,’ said Jesper Lund Madsen, the school’s principal. ‘But we think that beyond those two days, the kids should be in school.’
Many schools also reported problems with Muslim children not attending the first day of classes after the summer vacation.
Denmark has eight Christian holidays annually that are scheduled days off for students and employees.