What has changed

20 years as principal: “Respect for teachers is dwindling”

23 school days to go before HAK principal Wolfgang Rupprecht retires. In an interview with "Krone", he explains what has changed in the classrooms during his more than 20 years as principal. He agrees on one point with a young colleague.

At the age of 37, Torsten Welsch reportedly became the youngest HTL director in Austria when he took over the technical college in Grieskirchen. Around 20 kilometers away is probably one of the oldest principals: Wolfgang Rupprecht (66), currently principal of HAK 2 in Wels, will retire in 23 school days. Before that, he had already been in charge of the commercial academy on Rudigierstraße in Linz for more than 20 years.

A lot has changed during this time: "Respect for teachers is dwindling and their authority is being increasingly undermined. As a result, the creativity of the students' behavior has increased," says Rupprecht.

"Parents call in legal advisors"
Teachers are increasingly in need of a lawyer, Rupprecht reports from exchanges with other schools. These are mainly disputes about grades: "Parents used to file an objection with the school authorities, but now they are already calling in lawyers." Online bullying and cheating with artificial intelligence have also increased. "I still enjoy doing it," says Rupprecht about his job, "because you can teach young people certain things for life."

The 66-year-old and his young counterpart from Grieskirchen agree that there is no shortage of applicants for directorates. "It would be helpful to have middle management who can relieve the director of certain tasks," says Rupprecht.