
The Ministry of Education provided the federal states with 383 temporary teaching positions for the winter semester of the 2023/24 school year to support children and adolescents who fled before the Ukraine war or came to Austria through family reunification. However, only 62 percent of these additional resources were actually drawn down, according to the response to an FPÖ parliamentary inquiry by Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS).
There were significant differences among the states: Upper Austria and Tyrol fully used their so-called “Ukraine additional funds” for compulsory schools, and Carinthia drew down 89 percent. In Lower Austria it was 62 percent, and Styria, Vorarlberg, and Burgenland each used less than half. Salzburg consumed under one-fifth of its allocation. Vienna—whose then-Education City Councillor Wiederkehr had repeatedly called publicly for federal support due to increased family reunification—drew only one-third.
No More Special Fund in Future
The ministry told APA that “multiple reasons” explain the under-utilization. Additional quotas for German language support were distributed and could also be used for measures related to family reunification and for displaced Ukrainian children and youths. “Synergy effects may lead to under-utilization in one quota.” In some cases, teacher shortages may have prevented full use, and some schools simply may not have had the full level of need. The ministry said this also applies to Vienna’s low drawdown.
For the current school year, another 391 temporary, earmarked positions are available nationwide. They can be used to split classes or assign more special-needs educators in the classroom.
Going forward, there will be no more temporary special funds; this support will instead be permanently integrated into the announced new model for German language support. Wiederkehr announced in April that, from next school year, German support would be greatly expanded and the previous cap—under which not all children in need received support—would be removed.
FPÖ: “Wiederkehr Out of Ideas”
Criticism came from Vienna FPÖ Club Chairman Maximilian Krauss. “Wiederkehr publicly called constantly for more support, yet was not even able to use the available funds sensibly. The problem was not only the federal government, but the complete lack of ideas by the former Vienna Education City Councillor,” he said in a statement. He added that no improvement is to be expected under Wiederkehr’s successor, Bettina Emmerling.