Alarming figures

More and more suspensions at schools in Linz

It is not unusual for children and young people to test their limits at school. However, the increasing violence that is being displayed is alarming. In Linz, too, school suspensions are becoming more and more frequent, and in the final instance, pupils are excluded from lessons for up to four weeks. And the trend is rising.

"Suspension should always be a last resort, which is why I am very concerned about the figures. Politicians must finally face reality and recognize that we have a serious problem, an integration problem." FP security officer Michael Raml is not unconcerned by the current figures, which emerge from a response to a question from VP education officer Christine Haberlander. There were a total of 141 school suspensions in Linz in the 2022/23 school year. In the first semester of the current school year, there were already 108 suspensions.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Adobe Stock)

Suspension hotspot with 15 exclusions
It is particularly striking that the educational institutions with the most suspensions are those where the proportion of pupils with a non-German mother tongue (NDMS) is particularly high - see chart above. Middle school 11 (Diesterwegschule) ranks in the inglorious first place with 15 suspensions (proportion of NDMS: 91.2 percent), followed by MS 3 (Stelzhamerschule) with 13 "exclusions" (proportion of NMDS: 89.7 percent) and MS 10 (Löwenfeldschule) with eight suspensions (proportion of NDMS: 94.2 percent). In fourth and fifth place: Harbachschule (MS 12, proportion of NDMS: 81.7%) and PTS Urfahr (proportion of NDMS: 84.7%) with six suspensions each. 

Physical violence, threats, sexual assault
The causes are complex, but the most common reason for suspension was physical violence against pupils and/or teachers, followed by threats, threats to physical safety, bullying, stalking and sexual assault. The province of Upper Austria believes that it has already made a significant contribution to the prevention of violence and addiction through school psychology, bullying counseling centers and the Institute for Addiction Prevention.

Increasing propensity to violence as a challenge
However, this is not enough for the Freedom Party in Linz: "The increasing propensity for violence among young people presents us with major challenges. This primarily concerns the schools in Linz and the teaching staff. It cannot be overlooked that most of the suspensions took place in schools where the proportion of pupils with a non-German mother tongue is enormous. It would be negligent to overlook this correlation," says FP integration spokesperson Zeljko Malesevic.