In Austria, there is no school requirement, only compulsory instruction. Children can therefore also attend home lessons or a private school without public law (they themselves do not have the right to issue school reports, note). However, this must be reported to the respective education department – which in turn can prohibit this “if it is very likely to be assumed that the …. equivalence of the lessons is not given”. Pupils who have to attend a German remedial class are also not allowed to attend home lessons.
Poor results in external exams
In the previous year, 7,500 children were initially withdrawn from school, three times more than in normal years, mainly due to the Corona regulations. A third of these returned during the school year. The rest had to take an external examination at the end of the school year in order to successfully complete the respective school level – these were promptly much worse this year than in previous years, many did not even start and got stuck.
Stricter rules this year
Due to the increased number of cancellations, the rules have been tightened this year. Since then, cancellations for the coming school year have to be reported by the beginning of the summer holidays, previously this was possible by the end of the holidays. In addition, the external student examinations were bundled this year by separate commissions in order to prevent examination tourism in schools that are known to be “easy”. Parents were also invited to “reflection talks” at the change of semester.
“We have taken a variety of measures to ensure the quality of home education,” said Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) in a broadcast. “It is very gratifying that many parents are once again deciding to send their children to school and not to teach them at home. I am convinced that learning in a class community with trained teachers is an essential factor for a successful educational career is.”
In Lower Austria, 1,056 children were deregistered for home schooling for the coming school year, in Styria 838, in Upper Austria 822, in Vienna 497, in Tyrol 438, in Carinthia 339, in Salzburg 283, in Vorarlberg 209 and in Burgenland 119 declines in all countries.
These numbers will continue to fall. The school authorities prohibit the registrations, for example, if the children were already deregistered in the previous year and did not successfully complete the external exams. The school year must then be repeated in the regular school. In addition, you can switch back to a school with public rights at any time.
Source: Nachrichten
