Image: BIG/Phelps
Upheavals are imminent at the Wels school location: Yesterday, the Upper Austrian Education Directorate confirmed to OÖN that HAK 1 and HAK 2 in Wels, each with around 600 pupils, will be merged into one school. The project is still in the planning phase. Nothing will change for the current students and those starting this fall, says Karin Lang, who is responsible for the merger as educational director of the Wels-Grieskirchen-Eferding educational region.
The schools have a wide catchment area, ranging from Grieskirchen to the Kirchdorf district. Each of the schools has its own focus – for the students a major reason for which HAK they would have chosen, explains Rahel Fürlinger, student representative of HAK 1: “I thought carefully before making this decision. We don’t know how the merger will affect the would affect priorities.”
Sare Özdemir, student representative of HAK 2, also reports concerns: “The new school would have 1,200 to 1,300 students. We fear that it will be very impersonal.” In addition, the schedule is very tight, explains Özdemir: “As far as we know, the merger should start in 2024. In addition, we have not been informed about the exact plans so far, and there has not yet been any general information for the student body. “
rally on Friday
In order to show their dissatisfaction with the approach of the education department, the students of the HAK 2 have announced a rally in front of the building of the education region in Wels for Friday morning.
Its head Karin Lang gave the all-clear yesterday in the OÖN interview: “Except for a new sign on the door, everything remains the same for all current students and those who start in autumn.” The first joint classes would begin in the 2024/25 school year. All students could complete their chosen focus by the time they graduate from high school. “Only in 2024 could there be any changes to what is on offer for new students,” says Lang. However, this decision is up to the HAK. “School development continues to happen in the school, so there is no outside intervention.”
The purpose of the merger is to use synergies – the schools already share a building. “This ranges from the know-how of the teachers, which will be available to all students, to teaching materials and the rooms,” says Lang.
Since the number of teachers depends on the number of students, there will be no changes here. “Administrative staff will be needed for the transition phase over the next five years. How things will continue after that also depends on the number of students – it’s not yet possible to say,” says the head of the educational region.
New line not yet known
The headmasters and staff representatives were informed about the plans in November of the previous year. “Involving the entire student body would have gone beyond the scope – especially since the discussions are still ongoing and many things are still unclear. If we say something now that will change later, that would be even more unsettling,” says Lang. Only when all major questions about the merger have been clarified will there be comprehensive information – Lang did not want to commit to when it will be.
A key figure in the merger will be the new director of the HAK – who that will be has not yet been decided, says Lang. The two current directors, Gottfried Haider (HAK 1) and Friedrich Roitner (HAK 2), did not comment yesterday.
Source: Nachrichten
