Shortage of teachers: "Will not be able to fill all classes in September"

2023-07-20 06:01:39

The statement by Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP), according to which all lessons could be offered, currently sounds “illusory” to the top teacher representative Paul Kimberger (FCG). “From today’s perspective, we expect that we will not be able to fill classes in September,” said Kimberger in the APA interview.

In the previous school year, it was only possible to maintain teaching at some schools – with great regional differences – with great effort and many provisional arrangements. In Vienna there were problems for about months to find permanent class leaders for all elementary school classes. According to calculations by the trade union, the peak in the shortage of teachers is not expected until 2027 due to demographic developments. At the same time, the system in compulsory schools is producing more and more failures due to the extreme stress on the teaching staff, Kimberger warned.

“If nothing really happens, we have to think about trade union measures”

How severe the shortage of staff will ultimately be depends on how the number of students studying to become teachers and career changers develops, and what measures are taken by the Ministry of Education and the federal states “in order to finally react effectively and sustainably to the extreme situations in our schools”. the teacher representative. Already at the beginning of July, the compulsory school teachers’ union put the rod in the window of education policy: At the last federal management meeting, a resolution was passed unanimously with demands for measures against the shortage of staff, more support staff, less bureaucracy and a stop to impractical reforms and threatened with protest measures up to and including a strike. “If nothing really happens, we have to think about appropriate trade union measures,” Kimberger repeated his warning. The next federal management meeting with trade unionists from all over Austria is scheduled for the start of school.

In any case, the measures taken by the Ministry of Education so far are not enough for Kimberger. “These are a lot of announcements that have essentially not had the effect that we are hoping for in the schools.” So now the pressure is increasing.

Schools would still be overwhelmed by administrative tasks. The relief requested by the ministry several times from the education departments has not yet been passed on to the schools, and in some cases new tasks have even been added. Kimberger is therefore asking Polaschek to order the relief steps by decree for autumn.

From the point of view of the trade unionists, mucking out is also part of “so-called quality assurance”. Papers for authorities would be generated here, which would not bring any concrete benefit to schools. “We can no longer afford that in a situation with far too few staff.” Headteachers should also take care of staff development and good pedagogy and not “any school administration programs or pointless queries”.

There is still a lot to do with the support staff

There is still a lot to be done with the support staff: With the newly created possibility of employing secretarial staff, school social workers and school psychologists co-financed by the federal government through the financial equalization, states are on the brakes “because they simply don’t want to pay”. According to Kimberger, in order to make working in schools more attractive, salaries for teaching and support staff should also be increased. For him, these are no longer competitive, in regions such as Vorarlberg or on the border with Bavaria there is a risk of emigration to the neighboring country.

Kimberger finds it disappointing that there is still no resolution on the long-demanded reform of teacher training. Polaschek wants to present the amendment in the fall. As a result, the universities could still not start preparatory work for “more effective, more practical” training. It is planned that the bachelor’s degree will take three years instead of four and the master’s degree two years, for the secondary level (middle school, AHS, BMHS) that would be a reduction of one year. For Kimberger, the teachers are not well prepared for teaching with the current, “practical” model, which is why the “peculiar” induction phase is needed as an introductory year.

transition options

In order to relieve the schools more quickly, Kimberger also calls for the possibility of switching from the existing to the new form of training in addition to the reform. “There are intelligent models here so that training and teaching can run in parallel in a well-coordinated manner.”

It would also be absolutely necessary to reintroduce separate training in special education (since the 2015 reform there has been a focus on inclusion instead). In-house training is “no alternative” because of the differentiation in the area, and there is also a large shortage of staff in the area.

Career change offers are generally positive

Not even all students with disabilities get the support they need, says Kimberger. Currently, there are additional funds from financial equalization for a maximum of 2.7 percent of compulsory school students who need special support in class due to physical or psychological limitations. However, actual demand is estimated to be twice as high, and even higher in conurbations. Kimberger calculates that 3,000 additional special needs teachers would be needed just to look after these children. However, he fears that the cap will remain in place in the new fiscal equalization that is currently being negotiated. After all, everything seems to revolve around health and care.

Kimberger evaluates the new offers for career changers for the secondary level positively, every additional person brings relief. But he would also like to see such a model for elementary schools, where there is a “blatant deficiency”. Kimberger left it open which people would be considered as lateral entrants. But it is clear: “This must not be a program to poach elementary teachers.” After all, the kindergartens themselves had to contend with bottlenecks.