Stopping the family reunification would only « relieve the school room in Vienna at short notice »-Diepresse.com

Thousands of additional pupils recently came to Vienna's mandatory schools through family reunification from Syria, many without school experience. In the school year 2022/23 there were around 1300, 2023/24 around 3200 and 2024/25 to February 2300. In addition to more educational offers, additional school room was also necessary for them, and 45 mobile classes were recently built. In terms of space, a stop of the family reunification would only bring temporary relief according to the educational directorate.

Even if the government was to temporarily suspend the family reunification, the school area situation in Vienna would only « relieve short -term », it said in a statement. Because Vienna continues to grow, additional classes are also needed. For example, measures – such as the plan to reduce the class sizes in regions with more than 25 students per class, or the approval of a volunteer 11th and 12th school year for young people with disabilities – would lead to more school places.

1200 new school classes created

Regardless of family reunification, the number of compulsory students (VA Volks- und Mittelschulen) in Vienna has increased more in recent years than before, from 2021/22 to 2022/23 it was almost five percent, in the following two years each. Between 2015 and 2024, a total of over 25,000 compulsory students were added in the growing city. According to the educational directorate, 1200 new school classes were created to meet the need.

Because of international crises such as the refugee movement or the Ukraine war and political decisions such as the establishment of separate German support classes, however, even more additional classrooms had to be created, according to the educational directorate, so that children and young people get a school place close to home and the classes do not become too great.

The potential in free places is « already exhausted or still limited », so recently mobile classes – vulgo container – were set up. These were by no means « unnecessarily built », emphasized the educational directorate with reference to media reports on container locations, some of which are hardly buried. As with new school locations, the mobile classes are designed « ascending » and would not be fully occupied so that a new year can be recorded every school year. After four years they are fully busy. (APA)