Shortly Before School Starts

Neos sets Upper Austria a lot of homework

School starts again next Monday in Upper Austria—the NEOS are calling for reforms to be implemented in the classroom.(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / MARKUS HAUSER)

While the pink Education Minister Wiederkehr has spearheaded reforms at the federal level, Upper Austria is lagging behind in the education sector in a “negligent and unambitious” manner, criticizes Neos state spokesperson Felix Eypeltauer. Here’s what he writes to those in charge in the state government.

“Fail, insufficient”: That is the NEOS verdict on education policy in Upper Austria. Shortly before the start of the school year, the NEOS state spokesperson, Felix Eypeltauer, plays the role of the strict teacher. His party colleague, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr, has initiated reforms at the federal level—“but wherever the state has jurisdiction, it’s falling short,” says Eypeltauer.

“Not my cup of tea”
Take the issue of German, for example: “40 percent of fourth-graders fail to meet German language standards, but the state says, ‘Not my cup of tea.’” What does he mean by that? In the 2024–25 school year, Upper Austria claimed only 86 percent of the available federal funds for early childhood education. That is “negligent and unambitious,” says Eypeltauer.

If PISA shows us that 15-year-olds have reading problems, the political response can’t start only in elementary school—it has to begin in kindergarten.

Felix Eypeltauer, Neos-Landessprecher

Debureaucratization
Second issue: At the federal level, there has been a major push to reduce bureaucracy—for example, about 80 percent of previous circulars have been eliminated or reorganized. The NEOS leader now expects a similar “burden-reduction review” in Upper Austria as well.

And finally, in light of the mixed PISA results, the state should start as early as kindergarten—focusing on “quality, staffing, student-to-teacher ratios, hours of operation, and early language support.”