According to the law, even six-year-olds who are not yet ready for school must go to school. A single exception can be found in the mother-child pass.
“Compulsory education begins on September 1 after completion of the sixth year of life,” states the Compulsory Education Act of 1985. And without any ifs or buts, as the Upper Austrian State Association of Parents’ Associations criticizes. “We had a case where parents, the kindergarten and the school agreed that the child should remain in kindergarten for another year. Medical certificates also showed that he is not yet ready to go to school. Yet they went to school because exceptions are not possible,” says President Daniela Schwabegger.
Lessons according to the kindergarten plan
Those over the age of six who are not yet ready for school are taught according to the kindergarten curriculum. “Certainly if the kindergarten is run in an integrative way – that is, in a classroom setting – this does not do every child justice. “Moreover, these children are taken out of their usual environment again with the new school year,” says Schwabegger.
Parents decide from the September birthday
The only way to postpone school registration for a year is with the mother-child pass. If there is an estimated date of birth after September 1, parents or guardians can decide for themselves whether to enroll in school. In the current school year, 56 families in Upper Austria decided not to send their children to school until a year later.
“Not fair”
However, early admission for young people under the age of six is possible without any problems. “Unfair,” say the parents’ representatives. If legal guardians believe that their child under the age of six is already ready for school, they only need to apply in writing to the administration for admission. This year, 95 children went to school early.
Source: Krone
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