Call of help from schools: only 62% of the funding for refugee children!

Call of help from schools: only 62% of the funding for refugee children!

In recent years, the Situation of refugee children and adolescents in Austria and Germany has increasingly received attention. The focus is particularly on the challenges in the education system. It was found that only 62 percent of the 383 positions that the Ministry of Education provided for the promotion of refugee children and adolescents in the winter semester 2023/24. This information comes from information from the Tyrolean daily newspaper, which was uncovered by a parliamentary request from the FPÖ. While some federal states, such as Upper Austria and Tyrol, have completely exhausted, the situation in other federal states looks significantly different.

In Lower Austria, only 62 percent of the funds provided were used, while less than 50 percent were reached in Styria, Vorarlberg and Burgenland. Salzburg cuts the worst with less than 20 percent, and in Vienna only about a third of the funds have found their way to schools. This unequal exhaustion raises questions about why the support does not arrive nationwide. Lack of knowledge of German, ambiguities in the distribution of the additional contingents and a general lack of teachers are mentioned as the main causes.

A look at the funding structures

The current school year has 391 positions for all of Austria as a temporary quota. These resources are to be used to divide school groups or to increase the number of support educators. Due to the announced increase in German funding, Education Minister Christoph Return not only wants to expand the funds for refugee children, but also to cancel the previous cap. The plan to integrate special funds in a new model for German funding in the long term could lead to an improvement in educational opportunities for refugees in the long term.

Another aspect that is of great importance for the integration of refugees are the framework conditions under which they are taught. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, 38,646 Ukrainian students were included in the school system and benefit from a framework concept that was specially developed for schooling newly immigrant children. One goal is pursued here: a quick transition to the regular school system within a maximum of two years, supported by a tailor -made lesson that is adapted to the German skills of the students.

hurdles for refugee children in the education system

Unfortunately, the way to school integration is often rocky. Discussions about inclusion in the German education system show that refugee children often only have limited access to regular classes. Instead, they are often taught in preparatory classes, which does not meet the inclusion claims of the education system. This separation can lead to discrimination and make school start for children with an escape biography considerably more difficult. As the Federal Center for Political Education explains, there are also considerable differences in compulsory schooling in the federal states, with some only taking effect after the asylum application. This can lead to long waiting times in which children do not receive school education.

A rethink in the perception of refugees as active learners and not as a passive victim is necessary. The recognition of your strengths and resources could help promote your integration and to facilitate access to education. Approaches such as multilingual didactics could help promote children's linguistic and social skills.

It remains to be hoped that those responsible will tackle the significant differences in the use of funds and enable real inclusion for all refugee children and adolescents. This is the only way to become a new life for everyone.

For further details on the funding measures in Austria, please read the articles from Tiroler daily newspaper href = "https://www.schulministry.nrw/umgang-mit-den-des-des-russland-Ukraine-War"> School Ministry of NRW and from the Federal Center for Political Education .