Major staff shortage – are there school classes without teachers in the fall?

In the previous school year, it was only possible to maintain education at some schools – depending on the region – with a lot of effort and many provisional provisions. In Vienna, there were months of difficulties in finding permanent class leaders for all primary school classes. According to trade union calculations, the peak in the teacher shortage is not expected until 2027 due to demographic developments. At the same time, the compulsory school system is causing more and more failures because of the extreme stress on teaching staff, Kimberger warned.

Urgent action required
How big the staff shortage will ultimately be depends on how the number of students studying for teacher and career changers develops, and what measures the Ministry of Education and the federal states take “to finally respond effectively and sustainably to the extreme situations in our schools “. the teacher representative.

Already at the beginning of July, the compulsory education teachers’ union set the bar for the framework of education policy: at the last federal board meeting, a resolution was unanimously passed demanding measures against the shortage of staff, more support staff, less bureaucracy and an end to unworkable reforms and threats of protest measures up to and including a strike. “If nothing really happens, we should consider appropriate union action,” Kimberger repeated his warning. The next federal management meeting with union members from all over Austria is scheduled for the start of the school.

No lighting – rather the opposite?
In any case, the measures taken so far by the Ministry of Education are not enough for Kimberger. “There are a lot of announcements that have essentially not had the effect we’re hoping for in the schools.” That is why the pressure is now increasing.

Schools would still be overwhelmed with administrative tasks. The support of the education departments, requested several times by the ministry, has not yet been passed on to the schools and in some cases new tasks have even been added. Kimberger is therefore asking Polaschek to order the emergency stairs by decree before the fall.

Criticism of “quality assurance”
From the point of view of the union members, mucking out also entails a ‘so-called quality assurance’. Papers for authorities would be generated here, which would provide no concrete benefit to schools. “In a situation with far too few staff, we just can’t afford that anymore.” The principals should also ensure staff development and good pedagogy and not “any school administration programs or useless questions”.

get your hands on the money!
There is also still a lot to do with the support staff: with the newly created possibility of hiring secretarial staff, school social workers and school psychologists co-funded by the federal government through the financial liquidation, the states are on the brakes ” because they just don’t want to pay”. To make working in schools more attractive, according to Kimberger, the salaries of teaching and support staff should also be increased. They are no longer competitive for him, in regions such as Vorarlberg or on the border with Bavaria there is a risk of emigration to the neighboring country.

reform in education
Kimberger is disappointed that there is still no solution to the long-awaited teacher education reform. Polaschek wants to present the amendment in the autumn. As a result, the universities are still unable to start preparatory work for a “more effective, practical” education. The intention is that the Bachelor’s will take three years instead of four and the Master’s two years, for secondary education (secondary school, AHS, BMHS) this will be a reduction of one year. For Kimberger, the teachers are not well prepared for teaching with the current, “practical” model, which is why the “peculiar” induction phase is also necessary as a vocational induction year.

In order to relieve the burden on schools more quickly, Kimberger also argues for opportunities to switch from the existing to the new form of education in addition to the reform. “There are intelligent models here so that training and teaching can run in parallel in a well-coordinated way.”

More focus on special education
It would also be absolutely necessary to reintroduce separate special education courses (since the 2015 reform, the focus has been on inclusion). In-house training is “no alternative” because of the differentiation in the environment, in addition there is a large shortage of personnel in the environment.

Not even all students with disabilities get the support they need, says Kimberger. Currently, there are additional resources from financial equalization for up to 2.7 percent of school age pupils who need special support in the classroom due to physical or psychological limitations. However, actual demand is estimated to be twice as high, and even higher in agglomerations. Kimberger calculates that an additional 3,000 special education teachers would be needed to care for these children. However, he fears that the ceiling will remain in place in the new fiscal equalization currently being negotiated. After all, everything seems to revolve around health and care.

Praise for career changers
Kimberger positively evaluates the new offers for high school career changers, each additional person brings relief. But he would also like to see such a model for primary schools, where there is a “glaring flaw”. Kimberger left open which people would be considered lateral entrants. But it is clear: “This should not be a program to extort primary school teachers.” After all, the kindergartens themselves are faced with bottlenecks.