LH Doskozil/LRin Winkler: “The state’s free tutoring offer is an important tool in times of rising prices and ensures lasting equal opportunities.”
With the presentation of the school message, the semester break will begin tomorrow, Friday, for around 33,000 Burgenland students. The fact that some semester reports are better this year is partly due to the voluntary free tutoring that the Burgenland state government, headed by Governor Hans Peter Doskozil, has implemented together with the Burgenland Education Directorate. This is a complete success and has helped many students from schools within the state’s competence to achieve better grades. Every compulsory school student with special needs can use the state’s free offer. The interim results are impressive: 2,227 children took advantage of a total of more than 8,200 free tutoring sessions, organized by the respective teachers, in the first half of this school year. If you extrapolate that to an average of €30 for each hour of tutoring, families in Burgenland have already saved €246,000 in the first few months after the launch of this Austrian pioneering model, emphasizes Governor Hans Peter Doskozil: “The expenses for private tutoring are a major financial burden. In times of rising prices, many families simply don’t have the budget left for it. But school success and the future of the children should not depend on the parents’ financial possibilities!” Since the individual support takes place after consultation between the student, legal guardians and teaching staff, the organizational and time components are also a plus. In addition to the costs, this is another important advantage of the model, adds State Councilor Daniela Winkler. “We ensure that all children have fair educational opportunities – no matter what financial background they come from. Be it with this unique system of free tutoring, free kindergarten or free English lessons for everyone,” said the State Education Councilor.
The free tutoring, organized by teaching staff within the respective school, is made possible by 32 additional positions for teachers. The offer includes an eight-hour block and is needs-oriented and flexible: Depending on the child’s level of learning, the full eight hours or less can be taken, but an extension of eight hours is also possible. The costs are borne by the state of Burgenland: a total of almost two million euros has been budgeted for this school year. The first interim results show how important this initiative is and that it has been well received, said the state governor, who finally addressed the federal government: “A similar offer would also be extremely important for federal schools. The need is also great here, especially when it comes to graduating from high school. The federal government should therefore also consider our Burgenland model for federal schools.”
Photo to download: Free tutoring
Caption: State Governor Hans Peter Doskozil and State Councilor for Education Daniela Winkler visiting the Mattersburg elementary school (archive photo).
Image source: Burgenland State Media Service
Eisenstadt, February 8, 2024
Burgenland State Media Service
7000 Eisenstadt, country house, Europaplatz 1
Tel: 02682/600-2941
Fax: 02682/600-2278
post.oa-presse(at)bgld.gv.at
www.burgenland.at
2024-02-08 16:30:19
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