Viennese educational summit: 450 million euros for the future of our children!

Viennese educational summit: 450 million euros for the future of our children!

Wien, Österreich - Yesterday there was an important education talk at the Austrian Bundesverlag (ÖBV) in Vienna, in which more than 100 teachers from all educational levels took part. Federal Minister Christoph Return from the Neos emphasized the central role of education for the future of society. With the presentation of various initiatives, he wants to better develop the talents of the children and equip the schools more sustainably.

An important goal of the ministry policy is to improve the framework conditions for teachers. A mandatory second year is introduced in kindergarten, which should contribute to early social integration and language education. Despite the existing austerity measures, the Ministry plans to invest 450 million euros in the education system in the next two years.

teacher shortage as a central problem

A central concern of return is the fight against teacher lacks until the end of his term. However, the challenge is serious: Around 60% of the children in Vienna do not have German as a first language. Many of these children have inadequate language skills, and the number of funding teachers is increased from 650 to 1,300 to intensify language support. From the school year 2025/26, language support is also to be offered specifically in the afternoon in order to relieve the current shortage of space.

This problem is not only in Austria, but also in Germany. In a current discussion on the teacher situation, it is emphasized that the shortage of skilled workers presents schools with enormous challenges. According to the educational expert like Dr. Heike Schmoll and Prof. Dr. Harm Kuper succeeds in many elementary school students: Inside, the minimum standards in mathematics and German. The causes are diverse: old teachers, increasing number of students and too few young people in teaching.

The role of digital education

Return and other educational experts recognize the need to integrate digital education into the lessons. The education system in Germany shows that there are always pressure on the system, which is reinforced by the integration of refugees and the lack of specialists. In the past ten years, educational expenses have increased by 46%, but at the same time the proportion of gross domestic product has only increased by 0.2 percentage points. Therefore, the question of sustainable concepts and clear responsibilities in the education system remains.

In addition, the opportunities bonus of 60 million euros, which will be used in schools for better equipment from the school year 2026/27. Schools should be able to autonomously decide on the use of school books and digital media in the future, which is an important measure to update the education system.

According to the experts, many teachers are overloaded, which could also explain the high demolition rate among teacher students. Only 35% of teachers manage to work healthy until retirement. It is clear that strengthening the school management and creating better working time models are decisive in order to process the list of challenges in the field of education in the long term.

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