The two million mark is coming into view. But more inhabitants means more challenges. Especially in schools.
The city is growing enormously. The reason for this is immigration. In the previous year alone, 50,800 new residents, mainly Ukrainians, were added. The city’s chief statistician even speaks of a “demographically exceptional year”.
The two million mark could be cracked this year – five years earlier than expected. Vienna is and remains a magnet for people from other countries. One in four people living in Vienna is already non-Austrian. That is almost twice as much as the Austrian average.
But when people with different migration histories live together, there are of course many challenges. Not only linguistically, but also culturally. A look at schools shows that the situation is tense again. A particularly large number of students with a non-German native language and so-called focal schools in districts with a high percentage of immigrants push the education system to its limits.
The integration policy under alderman Christoph Wiederkehr (Neos) is strongly challenged here. How should the city deal with these tasks when it comes to learning the German language or finding a job?
“I am delighted that Vienna continues to grow and will soon break the two million mark. We continue to expand offers to promote German. This year, about 100 new language support staff will be deployed in the kindergarten,” says Wiederkehr to the “Krone”.
The Immigration Department (MA 35) is now undergoing a reform process. Whether everything goes so smoothly remains to be seen.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
