How much do you earn with which education? Is school success ‘hereditary’? The current figures from Statistics Austria provide answers to these and other questions. Meanwhile, Education Minister Polaschek calls for a lowering of the age of criminal responsibility…
Which school path daughters and sons follow still depends largely on the educational career of their parents. The chances of obtaining a university degree are seven times greater for children of university graduates than for children whose mother and father only have a compulsory education diploma. “Educational mobility between generations is only weak in Austria, and the course for an educational career is set early,” explains Tobias Thomas, Managing Director of Statistics Austria. Yet our level of education is constantly increasing.
Who gets how far depends on other factors. Of those who receive a lower secondary education after primary school, 82 percent later graduate with a secondary school diploma, with this percentage being higher for girls than for boys. For high school graduates, the figure is 28 percent.
Because job prospects for AHS graduates are not very lucrative, 66 percent of high school graduates opt for college. For those who attended school at a BHS, this is only 43.6 percent. Once you get to college, one in three people drop out of their bachelor’s degree within the first three semesters.
A look at Austrian education expenditure offers an interesting aspect. With 10,447 euros per student, we rank second among OECD countries. Only Luxembourg is ahead of us with 16,648 euros per capita. Despite the high expenditure we invest in education per capita, the result of the PISA math test remains a mess every time.
Violence in schools is increasing explosively
Meanwhile, the number of excesses of violence in local schools is raising alarm bells for the Minister of Education. Regardless of whether it concerns online hate, property crimes or physical violence, crimes increased to 5,984 cases last year and 3,363 in 2021, although homeschooling was still widespread. Now Minister Martin Polaschek is calling for criminal consequences and for the age of criminal liability to be reduced to twelve years, as does Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
In every educational directorate there is a contact person for problem cases at schools.
Attention is also paid to prevention. In addition, the ministry will focus on child protection in the coming school year under the motto: “Look instead of looking away”. The budget for workshops on extremism and violence prevention will also be increased by another 50 percent to a total of 2.1 million euros.
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.
