Vienna elementary schools: Over 10% of the students have problems with German!

Vienna elementary schools: Over 10% of the students have problems with German!

In Austria there is a worrying trend: According to the last data published, 10.6 percent of elementary school students do not have the necessary knowledge of German to follow the lessons. This is particularly alarming because the number of students in schools has increased. In the current school year 2023/24 there are now 1,172,406 children and adolescents in the classrooms, an increase of 1.2 percent compared to the previous year, such as reported.

The number of extraordinary students who need more intensive language support also increases in Vienna. By October 1, 2024, of 73,280 pupils at public Vienna elementary schools, 15,613 were classified as extraordinarily, which is about 21 percent. This is a slight increase compared to the previous survey. Children with a migration background are particularly affected, which have fled through crisis foci such as the war in Syria and Ukraine. These movements have led to a significant increase in the number of pupils, such as press.wien.gv.at

knowledge of German as a necessity

Wiener Education City Councilor Christoph Return emphasizes the importance of the German language for integration. "German is not optional, but a must!" He explains. The cityscape in Vienna is shaped by a large number of kindergartens, in which around 60 percent of the children already speak a different first language than German, which also increases the need for language support. Despite the initiatives such as the Viennese summer learning, which offers free German courses for refugee children during the holidays, the use of resources remains inadequate. The city is therefore forced to use funds from other areas for language support, which could endanger the quality of the offers in the long term.