2023-11-27 19:51:37
Advising the Education, Youth, Integration and Transparency business group
Vienna (OTS/RK) – GRin Mag. Caroline Hungerländer (ÖVP) addressed the integration monitor presented last week and confirmed that in Vienna “the facade of a multicultural city is crumbling little by little”. This is what the ÖVP has been warning regarding for years. One should not show tolerance towards intolerance, anti-Semitic world views and beliefs that put their rules above the laws. There are demonstrations on Stephansplatz where anti-Semitic slogans are shouted and yet the deputy mayor and city councilor Christoph Wiederkehr speaks of wanting to be tolerant of “all world views,” said Hungerländer. NEOS is demanding that the federal government close schools and clubs that do not adhere to the common rules of the game, but in doing so they are “forgetting” the kindergartens for which they are responsible in Vienna. There are also calls for social benefits to be cut for people who do not integrate. Nevertheless, NEOS has voted once morest precisely such measures in the past. “Curiously,” the city government is demanding integration measures from the federal government, but has not been able to initiate anything itself. Hungerländer demanded “finally an integration concept” from the city council for education. Since the number of immigrants has increased since 2015, such an up-to-date concept must be created in Vienna in order to prevent parallel societies and social segregation. There is also ideological segregation in Vienna – for example when it comes to anti-Semitism. Another problem is left-wing anti-Semitism, says Hungerländer. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. Political Islam is also an ideological counter-society and the city government is “absolutely failing” to do anything to counter these counter-societies. More work and fewer social incentives are still needed in Vienna. Vienna, for example, pays the minimum income to those in need of subsidiary protection. This is not necessary. There is no requirement to speak German in Vienna and no charitable work. The city government should stop trying to “level down” requirements for citizenship. It is not known why people, some of whom have lived in Austria for over ten years, do not have citizenship. Motive research is needed to answer such questions. The ÖVP will oppose a “softening of the content”, especially when it comes to values and norms. Overall, the time for fundamental debates is over; hunger countries demand that action now needs to be taken. The longer we stand by and do nothing, the more radicalization will progress. Finally, Hungerländer thanked the employees of the municipal departments. And she appealed to NEOS: “Work on Vienna instead of chatting regarding Austria.”
GRin Mag. Stefanie Vasold (SPÖ) emphasized the intention to use the new double budget to secure the existing offer and to address current challenges with further measures. This can be achieved by increasing the MA 10 budget by 18 percent. Of course there is “room for improvement”, but Vienna wins every comparison with other federal states when it comes to the availability and costs of childcare. In the coming year, six new locations are to be opened and a further 1,000 people are to be employed. For private providers there will be a massive increase in assistant positions, for example. In addition, a legal basis for individual integration into small groups will be created. There is also special financing to combat inflation. All of this shows that “primary education” continues to be a central concern in Vienna. Existing areas will also be expanded in the MA 11 area. This means that 400 additional families should be able to accept offers in the next two years. Private offerings would also be expanded. With the MA 44 and the Vienna baths, the city would have an important leisure and health offering. Here too there will be “substantial” budget increases. These included new swimming pools, renovations and a completely new indoor swimming pool in the Seestadt Aspern. The basis for the overall “good work and everything that is successful” is the employees of both municipal and private providers, Vasold concluded by thanking them.
GR Maximilian Krauss, MA (FPÖ) began by citing “SPÖ ideas in the education sector”, such as the abolition of grades and the introduction of comprehensive schools. Now there is an education debate without the government coalition saying a word regarding it. Vienna has the most school dropouts and the highest youth unemployment nationwide. The government coalition would “further level down” the education system. Krauss criticized the Vienna city government’s “comprehensive school and foreign infiltration ideas”. If you hear from all sides that you are on the wrong path, then you have to stop taking the “absurd” course, said Krauss in the direction of the mayor of Vienna. NEOS owes it to the Viennese to show their colors here and explain whether they stand “behind the SPÖ’s projects”. You should study your own budget and realize that, according to the budget, 108 million less should be invested in education. Krauss attested to “ignorance in his own department”. “Hardly anyone” still speaks German in kindergartens. This is also the case for the people caring for them. This is the “political” failure of NEOS. The “path of laissez-faire” is wrong. Through this, “money is being distributed with a cornucopia” and it is “shocking” that all of this is happening on the backs of Viennese children. The budget does not provide the means to improve the situation of young people in Vienna, so the liberal parliamentary group would “naturally” reject the budget in the education sector.
GRin Mag. Dolores Bakos, BA (NEOS) highlighted projects in the area of integration and youth that are in the area of participation. They managed to involve 30,000 young people in projects and plans. This is almost 20 percent of people of this age. She particularly highlighted the Viennese youth million. There is no other city that does this in this form, says Bakos. However, participation means that all children are really included – especially those with disabilities and impairments. Therefore, MA 13 will focus on finding out whether everyone is really included and whether anyone is being excluded. There are projects in Vienna to prevent violence, gender equality and once morest homophobia, which are being introduced in other schools. Education is the “ultimate violence prevention tool,” said Bakos. Violence must be prevented, especially in schools, by introducing a separate teaching subject. This is also regarding democratic values and pluralism. The organizational development process in MA 35 will be continued. This will make this department a more service-oriented department. It is important to achieve “integration from day one”, which aims not only at the labor market and education, but also at imparting rules and values. Bakos positively highlighted the integration courses run by the Integration Fund (ÖIF), which had been increased from eight to 24 hours. However, compared to countries like Germany with three times as many required integration hours, this is “lapidary”. Another project that Bakos highlighted are the summer German courses, which were launched by Integration Councilor Wiederkehr and Mayor Ludwig. Here too, the federal government is required to make these courses mandatory. “We do a lot, but we also have further visions,” says Bakos. But that requires cooperation. She thanked all employees and departments who worked “for this peaceful coexistence”.
GR Felix Stadler, BSc, MA (GREENS) did not see a larger number of elementary teachers and assistants in the roster. This would be “urgently necessary”. There are challenges in Viennese schools such as an increase in anti-Semitism and racism. However, there are also longer-term problems, including outside Vienna, such as educational injustice. It depends more on which parental home you come from than your own performance. There is a lack of knowledge of German, mathematics and English among Viennese middle school students. It is therefore “presumptuous” to claim that Vienna is well on its way to becoming the best city for children and young people, said Stadler in the direction of the previous speaker. Stadler listed a number of SPÖ and NEOS projects, such as free all-day school (“half happened”) and free meals in schools (“happened”). With regard to ethics lessons, Stadler reminded that this already exists. Compulsory ethics lessons for the 8th and 9th grades already exist and have been further expanded by the federal government. His group has already “submitted many proposals” to keep teachers in the job, but these have been rejected. At the same time, the government coalition itself said nothing in this direction, said Stadler. Finally, he expressed the hope that in the next two years the budget “will go much further than it unfortunately has in the last few years”.
GR Harald Zierfuß (ÖVP) confirmed that integration in Vienna had “absolutely miserable figures”, given that there were elementary schools in which there were children who were often born in Austria and were in kindergarten and yet did not know German. 40 percent of children who need language support never see a language teacher, Zierfuß recalled the result of a query response. A quarter of the trained elementary teachers do not want to work in Viennese kindergartens following their training – incentives need to be created to keep them in the city. Vienna also has an “enormous need to catch up” when it comes to school assistance, while in Styria, for example, “40 million euros for 3,500 children” are being spent. He called for consideration of the question of whether private kindergartens would receive “fair financing”. Cost transparency is needed in order to achieve “fair financing” of private kindergartens. Zierfuß said he had been hearing for years that the problems weren’t that big, but he was now pleased that the SPÖ had also realized that more needed to be done to keep teachers in Vienna. This is also important in view of the fact that 80 percent of the students “do not or only partially” achieve the standards in the areas of reading and arithmetic. The positions that are made available by the federal government must also arrive in Vienna where they are intended. There are many areas that need to be addressed before one considers the abolition of grades or Matura, concluded Zierfuß. (cont.) jazz
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