language courses. The length of time that each immigrant can attend such a course was increased by 50 per cent. Private language schools and non-profits, which obtain federal grants to conduct the courses, must also provide baby-sitting for mothers while they learn German and there will be extra grants to train the illiterate and difficult-to-educate teenagers. The federal government also aims to set up a network of sponsors to help immigrant families. Maria Boehmer, the federal migration commissioner, said she found it was "totally exaggerated" for the summit to be boycotted by Kolat's group, the Ditib network of mosques, the Turkish Parents' Association and the Council of Germans of Turkish Extraction. Germany has a population of nearly 82 million, of whom 7.3 million are not German citizens, according to official statistics. But the federal government estimates that ethnic minorities total 15 million people, including those who are have obtained German citizenship by naturalization or because they were children of mixed marriages between a German and a foreigner.
