Orientation classes for refugees: a way into the future!

Orientation classes for refugees: a way into the future!

With the creation of orientation classes, Austria reacts to the increasing influx of children and adolescents in the wake of the family reunification, which has increased since the beginning of 2023. Many of these young migrants, especially from Syria, have previously lived in refugee camps, for example in Turkey, and have no school experience. In spring 2024 the first orientation classes were introduced in Vienna; Vorarlberg followed in autumn reports the small newspaper.

The Minister of Education Christoph Return (NEOS) has expanded the model to all federal states in the current school year, although the number of orientation classes is currently limited because family reunification is currently exposed. An exception is only possible in hardship cases, and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) plans to significantly reduce family reunification beyond the end of the year.

Focus on the mediation of values ​​and basic skills

Orientation classes offer children and adolescents who need German funding and support for fundamental skills for schooling, a protected framework. The offer of teaching not only includes language support, but also the imparting of values ​​and basic social rules in Austria. This is done with the aim that students can switch to regular schools or German support classes as soon as possible notes the Federal Ministry of Education.

There are currently 55 pupils in orientation classes in Vienna, all of whom are in the mandatory school age and mainly come from Arabic -speaking countries. In Vorarlberg, 35 children are taught from the 1st to the 9th school level, especially from Syria and Afghanistan. They all have the status of "extraordinary students" due to inadequate knowledge of German, are not literally and often never attended a school before.

Challenges and support systems

The introduction of the orientation classes is an answer to the challenges with which many migrant children are faced. These include a lack of school experience, lack of knowledge of German and often also illiteracy. The high proportion of these students underlines the need for specific educational offers. According to the ÖIF-Factsheet, around 1.8 million young people under the age of 19 lived in Austria at the beginning of 2024, of which 27.6 % have a migration background reports the integration fund.

The federal government has developed the orientation classes to support these children and adolescents. First of all, they can be visited for a maximum of one semester before making a decision on the further educational path. Teachers and school management are encouraged to take into account the great variety of backgrounds and previous experiences of the students in order to create fair educational conditions.

The current approach to education is crucial to improve long -term integration opportunities and ensure the social participation of children with a migration background. In the context of the increased requirements and challenges resulting from the increasing family reunification, the orientation classes are an important building block in the Education System in Austria.