Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday hit back at the proposal of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to set up Turkish schools in Germany, days ahead of an official visit to Ankara.

"I do not think this brings us forward, as I think that Turkish children and pupils should go to German schools. I do not think much of the idea of Turkish children going to Turkish school," she told the Passauer Neue Presse regional newspaper.

Merkel was reacting to a proposal from Erdogan that has stirred great controversy in Germany, which has the highest population of Turks outside Turkey.

In an interview with Die Zeit weekly, he said: "In Turkey, we have German high schools. Why shouldn't there be Turkish high schools in Germany?"

In another potential point of discord, Merkel reiterated her opposition to Turkey becoming a full member of the European Union, saying, "my opinion has not changed and we need a privileged partnership" with Ankara.

Germany's objections that the sizeable mainly Muslim country is not fit for membership are backed by another EU heavyweight, France, but Ankara categorically rejects any other alternatives.