Misery continues

Into the new school year with a shortage of teachers

5655 girls and boys have their very first day at school next week.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Just a few days before the start of the school year, one full-time and 26 part-time positions are still vacant. The number of German support classes is likely to be 57. The reason for this is increased family reunification.

"The staffing situation remains a major challenge," explained Barbara Schöbi-Fink, the state governor responsible, at a press conference to mark the start of school. A total of 55,906 pupils, including 5,655 first graders, and 6,807 teachers will start the school year on Monday. That is 128 more teachers than last year.

321 new teachers have been recruited. The staff shortage is also alleviated by 75 teachers who are already eligible to retire, 56 lateral entrants and 29 compulsory school teachers from other federal states. A total of 4985 teachers are employed at provincial schools (compulsory schools and vocational schools) and 1822 at federal schools.

Full-time and part-time positions still open
According to Education Director Heiko Richter, one full-time and 26 part-time positions are still open, which mainly concerns compulsory schools. Those responsible are confident that they can still be filled. There are still too few trained teachers at compulsory schools. A high proportion of part-time teachers - 43% at compulsory schools and 47% at federal schools - poses additional challenges for the system.

Schöbi-Fink noted that the state provides the schools with around 300 more teachers than the federal government pays for. The schools are to be relieved by additional administrative staff, more resources for hotspot schools and more school assistants, for which the state is investing 14 million euros.

More flexibility for schools
The provincial governor explained that she supports the concept of German support classes, but would like to see more flexibility for schools when it comes to their design. There are expected to be 57 classes in Vorarlberg this year, with an increase expected over the course of the year due to the influx of new families.

This year, schools will be focusing on the creation and implementation of violence prevention and child protection concepts - for example, every school will be assigned a contact person at the police station - as well as the "perennial issue" of promoting reading, with a particular focus on vocational schools.