A German court quashed Wednesday three-month jail terms imposed on a home-schooling couple who refuse to send their children to a state school, and gave them token fines instead.

The ruling was unusual in Germany, which, unlike other western nations, has applied state might, including prison and making children wards of the state, to compel school attendance.

 The fundamentalist Christian couple, who have stopped working so they can educate their children at home, have indicated they will continue to refuse to send their seven children to a public school.

 German has also threatened to fine conservative Muslim parents who have sought exemption from 'permissive' sex-education classes.