Promotion of German in Kindergartens: Vienna's ÖVP Turns to City Audit Office

They doubt that the funds are being used appropriately, given the recent figures on the lack of German language skills among students. The survey will be limited to the Favoriten district, which is to serve as a case study, as Vienna's ÖVP leader Karl Mahrer and VP education spokesman Harald Zierfuß explained on Wednesday.

Vienna ÖVP: "Numbers More Than Dramatic"

The trigger for this step, according to the ÖVP, were the data on extraordinary students in Vienna. These are the children who can only follow the lessons inadequately due to a lack of appropriate German language skills. In the first grade, this affects almost half of the students, it was emphasized today. "These numbers are more than dramatic," Mahrer found.

More Funds for Language Promotion Demanded

In fact, Vienna's Education Councilor Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) has repeatedly raised the alarm about the increase registered in Vienna and nationwide. This was linked, among other things, to the demand to the federal government for more funds for language promotion or the possibility of being able to offer compulsory summer German courses. However, in the ÖVP's view, Wiederkehr himself is also responsible for the situation.

Mahrer identified a "failure in the pre-school area", for which the city is responsible. Because many of the extraordinary students would have spent two years in kindergarten. There is no precise investigation into how the German language promotion actually takes place. Therefore, the topic should be examined more closely using the example of Favoriten. There, already 63.1 percent of first graders have extraordinary status, it was noted.

The appropriate use of resources for language promotion is being questioned. Many children never get to see a language support worker, reported education spokesperson Zierfuß. He also referred to demands repeatedly expressed by the ÖVP.

More than a year ago, for example, a proposal was introduced in the city council to carry out language assessments for three-year-olds and to make kindergarten attendance mandatory from this age if deficits were identified. The city government is also being advised to increase the specialist-child ratio or to draw up plans on how to improve the language skills of the staff.

Announcement by Wiederkehr

Education Councilor Wiederkehr recently announced that he will also bring his demands into the current negotiations for a federal government. Vienna's VP chairman Mahrer, who is also involved in the coalition talks, did not want to go into detail about the current state of the negotiations today. However, he reported on "very, very good talks" with SPÖ and NEOS.

The Greens also let it be known in a press release that they see a clear need for improvement. "The Vienna education crisis is the result of a total management failure by the Neos," said party leader Judith Pühringer. Every additional day that the NEOS do not finally commit to real reforms is a lost one.

The Greens demand a massive expansion of German language support. Fixed language support staff at every kindergarten location as part of the team are, in their opinion, a necessity of the hour.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.