Germany needs billions to educate refugees

The Cologne Institute for Economic Research released the study on Thursday, as Germany continues to grapple with the influx of migrants from war-torn parts of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The annual study, called the "Bildungsmonitor," analyzes the state of integration within the country's educational system. This year's report painted a grim picture of the current situation, concluding that no progress had been made so far in 2016.

"For the first time in the study's 13-year history, the states have been found to have made no improvements over the previous year," said Hubertus Pellengahr, managing director of the organization.

Billions of euros needed

The study found that in some areas Germany has even regressed. For example, the school dropout rate for foreigners rose from 10.7 percent last year to 11.9 percent this year.

The study concluded that some 3.45 billion euros ($3.9 billion) will be needed to integrate refugee children into kindergartens, elementary and high schools, as well as trade schools in the coming year.

According to a story on "Zeit Online," Axel Plünnecke, the leader of the study, said around 98,500 spots in kindergartens alone were needed for migrant children.