How Schools Are Now Being Streamlined

"The goal is clear: less bureaucracy, more autonomy, more freedom," said Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) on Friday. The bureaucratic burden for school administrations has increased significantly in recent years, so they spend over 30 percent of their time on it. State Secretary Josef Schellhorn, who recently presented a debureaucratization package, spoke of the "week of debureaucratization." "It was very positively received, which was surprising for me. When I say something, it hasn't been like that in the last seven months."

Debureaucratization in Schools: How "Sokrates" and Teachers.direct Are Supposed to Help

The next step is now the debureaucratization in schools, said Wiederkehr. Specifically, the package of measures includes the reform of the school administration system "Sokrates." From now on, certificates will be permanently stored there. Certificates can then be electronically transmitted to the education portal, digitally signed there, and subsequently delivered electronically. Currently, certificates must be kept physically for 60 years. "Everything different" will be for teachers starting next spring with the app Teachers.direct. Applications and notifications such as those of a pregnancy will no longer need to be filled out manually and sent to the education directorate. As of August 31, 80 percent of the circulars have already been abolished. The remaining circulars will be revised in a further step. Additionally, there will be an increase in secretarial staff from the next school year.

More Autonomy for Schools in Language Support

Schools will receive more autonomy in language support in the future. To determine the language proficiency of students, mandatory tests with the MIKA-D instrument are currently conducted at the end of each semester. From the 2026/27 school year, only one mandatory MIKA-D test must be conducted per year - with the option to conduct optional tests during the semester. Additionally, MIKA-D will be further developed in terms of content. The resources for German language support have already been expanded by the government, and Wiederkehr does not expect additional costs. There will be relief for teachers in competency assessments of iKMPlus in middle schools and lower secondary schools. Open task formats will no longer be evaluated by teachers but by the Institute for Quality Assurance in the Austrian School System.

Change in Private School Law

The use of the ABA portal, which documents the creation and approval process of pre-scientific papers at AHS and final papers at BHS, is voluntary. "This creates freedom for schools to leave the planning and creation process more on the communicative level between teacher and student and to focus more intensively on the educational process," according to the Ministry of Education. Currently under review is an amendment to the Private School Act. This aims to simplify decision-making and administrative processes. A systematic inquiry and complaint management system is to be established in the educational directorates.

Measures for Reducing Bureaucracy in Schools Available Online

From spring 2026, all measures of the "School Freedom" initiative and the status of their implementation will be available online in a "Freedom Tracker". It will also be explained why other proposed measures are not being implemented. "This is not a one-time project, but a cultural change," said Wiederkehr.

Criticism of Wiederkehr by the Teachers' Union

The teachers' union sharply criticized Education Minister Wiederkehr. Chairman Paul Kimberger described his measures as "populist headlines". Since Wiederkehr has been in office, there have been numerous announcements that Kimberger sees as "educational nonsense". These include new orientation classes, support for suspended students, perspective talks for school dropouts, more autonomy in language support, and a headscarf ban for girls up to 14. According to Kimberger, these measures are additional burdens and difficult to implement.

The FPÖ identified "pure cosmetics, further zero measures, and a multitude of loose announcements for education policy" in the package of measures. Education spokesperson Hermann Brückl criticized in a statement: "Teachers, students, and parents do not need PR shows and no NEOS fairy tale hours on an ongoing basis, but finally real reforms."

(APA/Red)

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