Alarming numbers: Almost half of the Viennese first graders have German problems

Alarming numbers: Almost half of the Viennese first graders have German problems

In Vienna, alarming statistics ensure turmoil. Almost half of the first graders in the city have difficulty speaking German to follow the lessons. A request from the "Standard" to the office of the Education City Councilor Christoph Return (NEOS) reveals that 8,342 children, ie 44.6 percent, have an "extraordinary status" of the 18,722 students who attended the first class of a public elementary school on October 1. This means that you cannot meet the linguistic requirements.

The quota of the lack of language skills rose compared to the previous year. While around 36 percent of the students were still considered extraordinary in the school year 2022/23, this number has now increased significantly. Return of education explains that this increase is partly due to international crises, in particular to the influx of refugees from Syria and Ukraine. However, a large part of the children concerned, namely 5.084, was of origin of Austrian and thus born in Austria.

Criticism of the federal remedial distribution

In a last press release, return expressed his concern about the inadequate financing by the federal government. There is a significant lack of resources for German funding. "The positions granted by the federal government are not enough," he says. These scarce funds have already led to the fact that funds from other areas had to be used to support German funding.

The absolute number of students with extraordinary status remains high, which leads to an increased need for effective language support.

demands for reforms in the education system

The opposition in Vienna is extremely critical of the education plans of the city government. The educational spokesman for the Greens, Julia Malle and Felix Stadler, demand fundamental reforms and an improvement in working conditions for German supporters. The ÖVP also sharply criticizes the situation. Educational spokesman Harald Zierfuß describes the conditions as "incredible" and sees this a failure of the previous government parties SPÖ and Neos in the kindergarten area. He demands that a kindergarten obligation for children with inadequate knowledge of German are introduced from the age of three.

Dominik Nepp, the head of the Viennese FPÖ, also expressed serious accusations against the city council. "Return has managed to lead the education system in Vienna to the edge of the abyss within four years," said Nepp. He demands a guarantee from the Neos boss that return will not be appointed to another higher position, such as that of the Minister of Education.

The current discussion about the Viennese language problems makes it clear that there is an urgent need for action to improve the language skills of the students. Further Details on this topic can be found in an article in the "Standard".