2023-08-16 03:12:21
The wave of retirements among teachers is likely to reach its peak earlier than originally expected. According to pension forecasts by the Ministry of Education, the maximum has already been reached across all school types and federal states this year. In the secondary level (middle school, AHS, BMHS) this applies almost everywhere, but in the primary level (mainly elementary school) the peak is still to come in five federal states.
According to the current response to a parliamentary inquiry by Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP), around 23,100 people are expected to retire in primary school in 2023 (in hours per week). A slight decrease to around 22,900 is expected next year, and by 2030 the numbers are expected to drop to around 19,000. In its forecasts, the teachers’ union did not foresee the peak until 2026. In the secondary school, the ministry expects around 62,600 retirements in hours per week this year, with a decrease to 57,500 in 2024 and 43,200 in 2030.
As with the current shortage of teachers, however, there are also differences in the pension forecast depending on the type of school and federal state. In Vorarlberg and Burgenland, the peak of retirements in all types of schools will only be reached in the coming years. At the elementary schools in Lower Austria, Styria and Tyrol, according to the forecast, the maximum numbers are also only to be expected.
In the ministry’s demand forecast, the peak values in elementary school in all federal states apart from Burgenland and Lower Austria will already be broken in 2023, in secondary school the maximum value for personnel requirements in Salzburg, Burgenland and Vorarlberg is expected for 2025, 2026 and 2027.
The NEOS did not ask how far this can then probably also be covered by graduates of teacher training courses. For the coming school year 2023/24, a month before the start of school, there were still around 5,000 full-time equivalents and 200 full-time and part-time positions were still vacant, mainly in Upper Austria, Vienna, Salzburg and Vorarlberg. Early retirements due to the corona pandemic and the need for skilled workers in other sectors have recently unexpectedly aggravated the personnel situation, as Education Minister Polaschek has repeatedly asserted. The increasing part-time rates – according to the response to the inquiry between a fifth in Burgenland and over 40 percent in Vorarlberg – would lead to an increased need for staff. The ministry has therefore started a personnel campaign and a new career changer training course.
In view of the earlier peak of the wave of retirements, NEOS education spokeswoman Martina Künsberg Sarre calls for the focus to be more on quality rather than quantity in the coming years. “We have to attract the best for the teaching job, not just put anyone in the classes so that someone is there,” said Künsberg Sarre in a statement to the APA. In addition, the wave of retirements is not the only reason for the acute shortage of teachers, “many throw in the towel long before retirement”. Education Minister Polaschek urgently needs to free teachers from excessive and sometimes pointless bureaucracy so that they can concentrate on teaching once more. Sufficient support staff is also needed, according to the NEOS education spokeswoman.
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