diff --git a/flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/api/common/io/FileInputFormat.java b/flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/api/common/io/FileInputFormat.java
index 1d86ece29cd6364196ffb93d5f9a1e0dddb31da3..61837781c7bfdb1042f9124b887c25310b08e9d0 100644
--- a/flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/api/common/io/FileInputFormat.java
+++ b/flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/api/common/io/FileInputFormat.java
@@ -886,7 +886,7 @@ public abstract class FileInputFormat<OT> implements InputFormat<OT, FileInputSp
 	/**
 	 * The config parameter which defines whether input directories are recursively traversed.
 	 */
-	private static final String ENUMERATE_NESTED_FILES_FLAG = "recursive.file.enumeration";
+	public static final String ENUMERATE_NESTED_FILES_FLAG = "recursive.file.enumeration";
 	
 	
 	// ----------------------------------- Config Builder -----------------------------------------