Suspension of Viennese students without learning effect: reform demanded

Vienna's deputy mayor and education councillor Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) sees a need for reform in the suspension of pupils. "It is an illusion to believe that everything will be fine after a suspension," he told journalists on Tuesday. A package is needed at the federal level to set out accompanying measures. "There are currently no resources for working with these pupils."

In Vienna, the number of suspensions fell again in the first semester of the current school year - specifically from 386 to 338 (minus twelve percent). This means that the trend continued: In the entire 2022/23 school year, there were 814 suspensions, and in 2023/24 there were 756 (minus seven percent). "The suspension has no learning effect," emphasized Vienna's Education Director Elisabeth Fuchs. It is also not a punishment, but a temporary security measure. In most cases, it lasts between two and five days. It is imposed in cases of violence, damage to property or threats or blackmail.

A new package of measures has been put together to prevent violence among young people, said Wiederkehr. For example, a program for minors who commit serious crimes has been developed, and the contracting process for this is already underway. This involves children under 14 who have already committed serious crimes on several occasions - around 20 people, according to Wiederkehr. They are to be supported by an orientation program in close cooperation with the police and child and youth welfare services. Around 500,000 euros have been budgeted for this.

If the children are with their families, they should also be included. If they do not cooperate, custody proceedings can be initiated. Wiederkehr again spoke out against prison sentences for minors - "but there must be consequences."

Other points include increasing the financial resources of the existing training program for students who have shown behavior that merits suspension to around 535,000 euros, strengthening cooperation with the Derad association and providing additional quotas for its use. "We are seeing a stronger Salafist online movement that is also affecting young people," said Wiederkehr. Teachers should be able to contact Derad more often so that they are not burdened with these problems themselves, said Fuchs.

The so-called FiSch (Family in Schools) classes set up at eight competence centers will be increased from 100 to 300 places. Parents come to these classes temporarily with their children to observe their behavior at school. They are then supposed to work together to improve this behavior. At the same time, parents also receive support for their parenting at home, says Fuchs. Such places can be used several times a year, since children and parents are only supposed to spend a limited amount of time there.