Too many migrants?

Parents complain: “Forgotten German in kindergarten”

There are currently 30 municipal and 33 private kindergartens in Innsbruck (symbolic photo).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/candy1812 - stock.adobe.com)

A couple from Innsbruck are sounding the alarm. They say their children are making more mistakes with the language than they did a year ago. "Because practically everyone in kindergarten has a migrant background."

"After the first year in a municipal kindergarten in Innsbruck, our child is making more language mistakes than before." These were the words of a couple who contacted the "Krone" newspaper. The mother and father have a suspicion as to why their child is making these mistakes: "There was only one other child besides ours who had parents without a migration background."

As the couple can afford it financially, the child will move to a private kindergarten after the summer.

The parents are now sending their child to a private kindergarten (symbolic image).

(Bild: canva)

"Language support must be available right from the start"
The "Krone" asked ÖVP provincial councillor Cornelia Hagele (see below) and the parties represented in the local council to comment on these reports. SPÖ Deputy Mayor Elli Mayr says that "the challenges for children are greatest when the factors of poverty, parents' lack of education and German not being a first language come together. All measures are therefore needed to ensure that education and language support are available right from the start". In addition, urban planning and housing allocation are needed "to ensure that the one-sided developments of recent years are not exacerbated".

We have been saying for years that compulsory German courses are the key to successful inclusion.

Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider

Bild: Christof Birbaumer / Kronenzeitung

Fritz list in favor of compulsory courses
Meanwhile, Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider from the Fritz list says that "we have been saying for years that compulsory German courses for children, young people and adults who come to us are the key to successful inclusion. As far as our kindergartens are concerned, we have to start with the children and their parents - according to the motto 'encourage and challenge'. The children in kindergarten need special early support so that they can catch up on deficits in German. We must demand that parents also learn German. We also need to keep an eye on possible clusters in the kindergartens".

66 kindergartens in Innsbruck

• There are 30 municipal and 33 private kindergartens in Innsbruck. These look after children aged three to six. While the costs for municipal kindergartens are low, private kindergartens are more expensive.
• "56 percent of pupils in Innsbruck's secondary schools are non-German native speakers. The situation is even more dramatic in primary and nursery schools," says Fabian Walch (FPÖ).

DasNeue Innsbruck calls for "good concepts"
 Lucas Krackl from the club Das Neue Innsbruck emphasizes that "City Councillor Elli Mayr, who has been in charge for six years and is also responsible for this period, is called upon to act quickly. A more balanced ratio is a prerequisite for ensuring that no child is left behind. To achieve this, good concepts and the will to act are required. The facilities also need the resources for this.

The policy of open borders and the lack of controls on illegal migration have led to these conditions.

Fabian Walch

FPÖ demands tight borders
"The policy of open borders and the lack of controls on illegal migration have led to these conditions," Fabian Walch from the FPÖ is certain, "first the borders must be sealed and further uncontrolled immigration stopped. Then the legacy issues must be dealt with and all those who have no right to stay and have become criminals must be deported."

The Alternative List Innsbruck believes that no statement can be made without background information. The request to the other parties remained unanswered.

Cornelia Hagele

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer/Kronen Zeitung)

"Gives the opportunity to employ additional specialists"
 "Our primary goal is to provide equal educational opportunities for all children in Tyrol, regardless of their origin. Language and communication are essential building blocks in everyday pedagogical education, in which children should receive the best possible support right from the start," says Cornelia Hagele (ÖVP), State Councillor for Education, on the case described above. She refers in particular to the state's language support program.

"It is possible to employ additional pedagogical specialists for child education and childcare facilities. They take on a special pedagogical focus by supporting children in their individual language acquisition and transition from an elementary educational institution to elementary school." 

Language support is part of the promotion of early childhood education and one of the key steps in implementing the right to a child education and childcare place for children from the age of two in Tyrol by 2026.

Cornelia Hagele

"It is particularly important that this is used"
This measure adapts to demand and the allocation of groups is the responsibility of the provider. "Language support is part of the promotion of early childhood education and one of the key steps in implementing the right to a child education and childcare place for children from the age of two in Tyrol by 2026," the provincial councillor further emphasizes.

In conclusion, Cornelia Hagele emphasizes that "language acquisition is much easier at an early age than at a later stage. That is why it is particularly important to me that this support is also used to promote the development of language as the key to later participation and to pave the way for all children to continue their education in the best possible way".

Kommentar

Rechtsruck darf nicht wundern

In the last EU elections, right-wing parties in Europe made strong gains. In France, thousands of people protested against the success of the far right after the first round of voting in the early parliamentary elections. Meanwhile in Austria, the FPÖ under Herbert Kickl is predicted to come first in all polls in the upcoming National Council elections in the fall.

In order to get a grip on the problem described by the couple, solutions need to be found quickly. After all, hardly anyone can afford to switch to a private educational institution, which costs several hundred euros a month.

Manuel Schwaiger

Listening to the Innsbruck couple's account, however, the shift to the right around the world should no longer come as a surprise. After all, if your own child learns the local language after the first year in kindergarten because too many other children don't speak it, it is only logical that calls for closed borders and a stop to immigration become louder.

In order to get a grip on the problem described by the couple, solutions need to be found quickly. After all, hardly anyone can afford to switch to a private educational institution, which costs several hundred euros a month. Some solutions are already on the table. Implementing them quickly is the order of the day. However, it is doubtful that this will be achieved before the national elections in the fall.