Parents shouldn’t “tremble” before homeschooling, said Education Minister Heinz Famann (VP) on Friday after the conference of state education officers in Tyrol. “I am not only convinced, but also certain that the school will remain open,” said Famann. He said that school was “very well prepared” for the pandemic. If the schools were closed, one would have one less important means of pandemic control, argued the education minister. Especially since the many tests give you a good overview of the infection process, he was satisfied with the test system.
Relieve teachers
At the conference of state speakers for elementary education and education, a number of resolutions and projects were presented that should relieve teachers in the future and enable them to concentrate on their educational tasks. An “intra-school division of labor” was “not really available”, Famann pointed out to deficits. Therefore one wants to use additional administrative staff. Negotiations within the scope of the financial equalization are planned for this.
In addition, the occupational field of leisure education is to be upgraded in the direction of “educational assistance”. In future, leisure educators should be able to work not only in the afternoon but also in the morning. These are currently working in the rural sector at several locations, which is also difficult from a labor law point of view, said Beate Palfrader (VP) of Tyrol’s Landesrtin of Education.
The federal government is ready to invest more money
In addition, a new 15a agreement is pending between the federal government and the federal states in the elementary education area, which should be ready by next autumn. According to Famann, the federal government is ready to invest more money here. Palfrader insisted that more funds should also be used for language development in the preschool sector. How much all of this should cost or how much money the countries need for these measures, nobody wanted to commit on Friday. One has to deal intensively with how one can make the professions in elementary education more attractive – also for men, said Salzburg’s local ruler Andrea Klambauer (NEOS).
Krntens Governor Peter Kaiser (SP) praised the good communication across “party and federal state borders”. At the conference, a resolution regulating home teaching was renewed, he reported. This includes, among other things, a mandatory parenting meeting in the event of leaving school. Kaiser was pleased that many students who were taught at home at the beginning of the school year are now back in schools in all federal states. He also said that due to the pandemic-related learning backlog, additional support hours will be needed until at least the end of the summer semester.
Skills shortage among teaching staff
Salzburg’s Bildungslandesrtin Daniela Gutschi (VP) addressed the problem of the shortage of teachers: “The shortage of skilled workers has reached the teachers,” she stated. Especially since the training period was extended, this is noticeable in the primary level as well as in the middle schools. A reduction by one year is therefore conceivable – one week per year should be stipulated for further training. She was convinced that special education training also needed a new status.
