Vienna starts offensive against school violence: 500,000 euros for help!

Vienna starts offensive against school violence: 500,000 euros for help!

Wien, Österreich - In Vienna, a new package of measures to combat school violence and support problematic students is introduced. Every year, around 700 students are suspended in the Austrian capital, with the suspenders taking between two and five days on average. Education City Councilor Christoph Return (NEOS) describes the situation as worrying and announces that from autumn 2025 a specific program called "orientation aid" will be established for particularly striking minors. "We believe that it is necessary to make the consequences of their behavior clear to the children and their parents," explains the return, while pointing out that the city provides 500,000 euros, as krone.at reports.

orientation aid for problematic students

The orientation aid is particularly intended for a small group of around 20 students who have already committed several times. The education city council emphasizes that despite the derations, relevance of suspended measures "It is illusory to believe that after a suspension everything fits again". Therefore, accompanying measures such as lectures by the police, coaching and workshops are planned to offer the affected students and their parents support. The previous measures have already shown initial successes, because the number of suspenders is slightly declining according to the return. From 818 suspenders in the school year 2022/23, the number fell to 756 the following year, which is a reduction of about 7 percent, reports Kurier .

Additional attention is paid to combating extremism. "We are increasingly observing Salafist currents that appeal to young people," warns Return. This is supported by the commissioning of the Derad association, which specializes in prevention work. As part of the new programs, the existing training mission for children with problematic behavior should also be intensified. Further measures include so-called fish classes, in which parents and children are supposed to work together on behavior changes. These initiatives aim to integrate the children and their families more actively into everyday school life in order to promote sustainable development.