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Promoting German in Vienna: School starters without prospects?
Criticism of Vienna's education system: Zierfuß calls for reforms to address language deficits among those starting school, while those responsible fail to act.
Promoting German in Vienna: School starters without prospects?
The debate about language support in Vienna's schools is gaining momentum. Education and club chairman Harald Zierfuß of the Vienna People's Party sharply criticized the Neos for their handling of the education sector during an interview. According to Zierfuß, around half of those starting school do not speak German and have to be listed as extraordinary students. This is a serious threat to the integration of children, which has arisen as a result of years of failure to promote German. He calls for mandatory, early German support for all 3-year-olds in kindergartens in order to counter the challenges that the language problem brings with it. OTS reports that clear standards and greater commitment from parents are necessary to improve the integration of children.
Current figures make it clear how serious the situation actually is. According to RT, almost 45 percent of Viennese school starters have an “extraordinary status” due to their lack of knowledge of German. Surprisingly, many of these children were born in Austria and have spent several years in kindergarten without acquiring the necessary language skills. Another report by the ÖIF shows that 27% of students in Austria speak a colloquial language other than German, and in Vienna even 51.6%. RT highlights that around 19.3% of students are foreigners and that there is already a high proportion of children with Arabic or Turkish as their first language.
The challenges of integration
Despite the introduction of German support classes in 2018, which offer up to 20 hours of language lessons per week, progress in German skills remains limited. Critics argue that these classes contribute more to segregation than to the integration of the children affected. Children in these classes often feel isolated, which makes the transition to regular classes difficult. In addition, the MIKA-D test is criticized as unsuitable for measuring German language skills.
In the 2022/23 school year, around 45,749 students were classified as exceptional, which corresponds to 1.2% of all Austrian students. The proportion of non-degree students with foreign citizenship is 17.2%. This proportion is particularly high among Ukrainian, Romanian and Syrian students. These figures make it clear that the majority of children affected by language deficits were not born abroad but were born here, which indicates inadequate language support in early childhood. ÖIF also emphasizes that a sustainable strategy to involve parents and value heritage languages is necessary in order to avoid long-term social and economic problems.
The current situation in Vienna's schools is a reflection of the challenges that the city has to face in terms of integration and education. The calls for reforms and clear measures to improve language support are becoming louder and louder. It remains to be seen whether and how those responsible will respond to these urgent requests.