Tirol education chief rejects six-year primary school plan

Tirol’s education councillor has rejected a proposal to extend primary school to six years, as the state parliament debated the plan on Thursday. At least five trial locations are expected across Austria, but apparently none in Tirol, ORF reported.

NEOS state spokeswoman and parliamentary group leader Birgit Obermüller backed the proposal from her party colleague, Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr. She argued that children’s social backgrounds have too much influence on educational outcomes and said choosing a later education path at age 12 would be easier for pupils.

ÖVP education councillor Cornelia Hagele had already dismissed the idea, saying the proposal was underdeveloped and faced funding and infrastructure obstacles. She said schools lacked the necessary space and argued that delaying selection by two years would not change the system. Obermüller said the ÖVP was not flexible enough on education.

ÖVP education spokesman Dominik Draxl said the state had limited authority because many education responsibilities lie with the federal government. He called for a range of schools and a system that allows pupils to move between educational paths, adding that reforms were already being introduced.

SPÖ lawmaker Benedikt Lentsch said the state government had shown a willingness to reform, citing a right to an early education and childcare place from a child’s second birthday. He also highlighted the effect of family background on educational outcomes and advocated a full-day common school for all children aged 10 to 14, with individual support. He said a six-year primary school would merely delay separation by two years.

FPÖ lawmaker Gudrun Kofler also called for a system that allows pupils to progress, but opposed keeping all children together until age 14. She called for more authority and discipline in classrooms, and said teachers should be able to set boundaries. Kofler also called for mandatory German skills before children start school, saying more than 23 per cent of first-graders need intensive German support.

List Fritz leader Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider criticised the state government’s approach to reform and called for new models to be tested and scientifically evaluated. She said a six-year primary school would not solve every problem but should be tried.

Green Party lawmaker Zeliha Arslan said the education system was already under strain and that children with migrant backgrounds were not the cause. She accused the federal government of pursuing symbolic policies, saying a proposed headscarf ban would affect 0.01 per cent of pupils while 400,000 minors live in poverty. Arslan also backed a common school for all children aged 10 to 14.