Wearing a headscarf often changes the girls' behaviour. They become much more reserved than before, said a teacher in Berlin.

In Berlin, more and more Muslim girls go to school wearing headscarves, a teacher in Berlin told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper anonymously about her experience.

It is mainly girls in the 9th or 10th grade who return to school wearing a headscarf after a school break or weekend, she said. She was surprised at some of the girls because they had previously given the impression that they were open to the Western way of life, she noted.

Wearing a headscarf often changes their behaviour. The girls become much more reserved than before,

the teacher continued.

When she talked to the teenage girls, they told her that the decision to wear a headscarf was the result of a long process. It means a sudden change only to outsiders.

Wearing face coverings in the classroom is a recurrent topic of debate in Germany. As education falls in the responsibility of federal states, regulations are not consistent. Bavaria and Lower Saxony were the first states to ban full-face coverings by amending their school laws in 2017, as recalled by the German regional public service media Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

The regulation is intended to ensure open exchange and communication between students and teachers. This includes the ability to perceive the facial expressions and gestures of the other person and to react accordingly.

As of 1 June, covering the face in classrooms is banned in Hamburg schools under a regulation that recently came into force. The education law has been amended to prohibit students from covering their faces during lessons, events and breaks. The wearing of a medical mask is exempt from the ban if there is a medical reason.

In a letter sent to school administrators, school authorities explained what the ban on face coverings means. The letter says that completely covering the face or covering essential parts of the face from the lower edge of the chin to the lower edge of the forehead is prohibited. The ban applies to wearing a niqab or other face veil, for example. Wearing a headscarf that leaves the face uncovered from the eyebrows to the lower chin area is permitted.