Only a Tenth of Registrants Absent in Summer School

At the start of the summer school on August 18 in the east, 39,500 students registered. Late registrations increased the number to over 41,100. In fact, 37,400 students attended the classes, which corresponded to 83 to 96 percent of those registered, depending on the federal state.

Proportion of extraordinary students in summer school low

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) saw the importance of this learning aid during the holidays confirmed by the number of participants. Comparatively low, however, is the current proportion of extraordinary students who, according to the MIKA-D test, have a need for support in the language of instruction, German, and therefore have to attend German support classes or courses. This is the target group for the mandatory summer school planned by Wiederkehr from 2026. As of August 18, nearly 7,800 children and adolescents with a need for German support were registered, which is not even a sixth of the target group. According to ministry figures, around 6,600 or 83 percent of those registered actually participated in the classes.

Summer school: Teachers doubt implementation of obligation

According to Wiederkehr, the summer school obligation is intended to provide children who do not speak German during the summer holidays with two weeks of intensive German support before the start of the school year. To ensure that the children and adolescents actually attend, the summer school for extraordinary students is to become part of compulsory schooling. Administrative penalties would then also be possible for non-attendance. Since the number of children in the summer school would almost double to 70,000 with an obligation for extraordinary students, Wiederkehr wants to, if necessary, also oblige teaching staff to teach during the last two weeks of the holidays. The feasibility of the summer school obligation is questioned overall by the union. According to the top teachers' representative Paul Kimberger (FCG), an obligation would be bad for the learning environment, and many of the affected students are not even there during the last two weeks of the holidays or could ignore an obligation.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.