“All lessons can also be held”, with this announcement Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (VP) opened the school year in eastern Austria on Monday. Of course, “if someone falls ill over the weekend”, there could be short-term failures, the minister said.
Polaschek did not want to provide any information on the extent of the teacher shortage. He referred to the last 600 newly hired career changers, of whom more will be needed.
And in the direction of the teachers’ union, which was skeptical on this point, the minister said: Of a total of 120,000 teachers at Austria’s schools, only ten percent would not have had a relevant degree.
Fast solutions
wave of retirements
Upper Austria is one of those federal states where the peak of a wave of retirements among educators is expected this year (the OÖN reported). In the course of the school year, 197 full-time teaching posts in primary schools and 544 in secondary schools are expected to become vacant. A total of around 20,000 teachers are employed in Upper Austria.
Currently, 299 posts were advertised to be filled, 142 alone in elementary schools, another 137 in middle schools, and the rest in polytechnic schools and special schools.
In the higher schools, most positions should be filled. Because there could still be shifts at the start of school, the latest figures were only to be presented in the middle of the week, according to the OÖN request yesterday from the education department. The 299 advertised posts are “a lot of part-time jobs”.
Image: OÖN graphic
At the federal level, criticism of Polaschek’s soothing words has rained down. SP education spokeswoman Petra Tanzler accused the minister of not even giving specific figures on the shortage of teachers. In order to “get to the root of the problem”, the teaching degree must be improved and a modern workplace must become a matter of course.
FP education spokesman Hermann Brückl spoke of an “unsustainable situation” if, among other things, career changers and students without a degree would have to be brought into the school classes in the coming school year.
Neos boss Beate Meinl-Reisinger wants to increase the pressure on the minister with a petition to reduce the excessive bureaucracy in the schools. In view of the many lists, forms and protocols that teachers have to fill out, especially when school starts, there is hardly any time for their actual job: teaching, says Meinl-Reisinger. Polaschek rejected the criticism. The reduction in bureaucracy is also “extremely important” to him, which is why the support staff has already been increased from 400 to 700.
Image: APA/EVA MANHART
Reading promotion moves into focus in schools
In the new school year, the Ministry of Education wants to focus on promoting reading skills. “Meaning reading is the basis for a successful educational and professional career,” said Minister Martin Polaschek. In the international studies PIRLS and PISA, Austria’s reading performance is “in the better midfield”, which is “unsatisfactory”.
In the future, for example, public figures will act as reading ambassadors when they visit schools, inspiring children and young people to read. Schools that are particularly innovative in reading projects are to be awarded a seal of approval. For the focus on reading in the classroom, Polaschek praised the model of reading tandems between children with reading difficulties and those who find it easier to read. Polaschek expects measurable progress in the comparative studies starting next year.
The educational researcher Dirk Harstätt rated the announced measures to promote reading as the “right approach”. However, he still misses a special focus on boys, because they would show greater deficits than girls.
Author
Lucian Mayringer
Editor of Domestic Policy
Lucian Mayringer
