New School Year Also Starts in the West and South

A week after the school start in the east, school is also starting again in Carinthia, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg. For 660,000 children and teenagers, the holiday or kindergarten period ends, and for around 53,500 first graders, it is their very first day of school. The new school year lasts until July 3, 2026, in the east, and until July 10 in the other federal states. The number of open teaching positions has decreased again compared to the previous week, with 141 positions still open as of Monday, according to the Ministry of Education.

At the end of August, 265 teachers were still being sought, which corresponds to 0.22 percent of the 120,000 positions at around 6,000 schools in Austria. Even then, the education department emphasized that the school start could cover all hours with the current staff level. With the school start in the east a week ago, 183 positions were still unfilled, and currently, there are now 141 (0.12 percent). To cover gaps, the ministry has also planned overtime for existing teachers.

The new school year also brings expansion of German support and school psychology

The new school year lasts until July 3, 2026, in the east, and until July 10 in the other federal states. Among the innovations, it brings an expansion of German support and school psychology, and for the first time, there is also school social work at federal schools (AHS, vocational middle and higher schools/BMHS). For children with disabilities, more modern curricula are being gradually introduced, and at the Economic Realgymnasiums (WIKU), a new subject "Economy, Innovation, and Sustainability" is being introduced autonomously by the schools. The schools are to be relieved by the newly created pedagogical-administrative specialists and fewer ministry decrees.

(APA/Red)

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