At the start of the new school year in Vienna, Corona is largely hidden. Which rules still apply (again) and why so many teachers are missing.
This school year – unlike last fall – there will initially be no tests or masks. “As in all other areas of life, it is also important in schools to learn to live with Covid-19,” the circular from the Ministry of Education said.
So normality should return, provided the virus and its variants allow it. But it’s not quite over yet: school boards will have the option to prescribe antigen tests or masks for a limited period of two weeks, for example if infections occur in a class.
Distance learning is not off the table yet
The school management can also order so-called location-independent lessons, or distance learning – but only with the permission of the education department.
This will largely support the guidelines of Minister Martin Polaschek. “However, we call on students to voluntarily take a PCR test before the first day of school in order to start the new school year as safely as possible,” said Heinrich Himmer, Director of Education, in an appeal to parents.
Leave for pregnant women not extended
Teachers infected without symptoms will not be assigned to state schools, but will be assigned to federal schools. And: The exemption for pregnant teachers, who previously belonged to the corona risk group, was not extended. They have to teach again until they go on maternity leave.
Teacher shortage ‘worse than expected’
Teachers’ union Thomas Krebs explains to Krone why there will still be a teacher shortage when school starts: “It was clear before the holidays that we would have a teacher shortage in the autumn, but the situation is worse than expected. Some classes are not led when school starts.” However, of the 6,000 registrations, only 700 were employed. Why is it so? “Few applied for a full-time job, in other words, they wanted to take over their own class. The main reason for this is the five-year training.”
Krebs sees the reasons why the staff shortage in Vienna is getting worse year after year in both parking management in Vienna and the rising rates, which “on the one hand scare teachers away and on the other hand young colleagues from teaching in Vienna”. When classrooms have to be enlarged because of the teacher shortage, “our students, as the next generation, are being denied opportunities for the future”.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
