On average 750 euros

Expensive tutoring is now a burden for many families

Most parents provide private help, but many also need paid external professionals.

(Bild: Dan Race - stock.adobe.com)

Thousands of pupils are currently studying for their "Nachzipf", often enough with the help of paid support. According to the AK, they spent an average of around 750 euros per child on tutoring in the previous school year. There are differences between the federal states.

The demand is huge, according to the Chamber of Labor. According to their tutoring barometer, every second schoolchild needed external support recently. In some cases, free remedial courses in schools help, but in many cases it is not possible without professional learning institutes or tutors. A good one in five children make use of these, just as many as the free offers. 18 percent receive tutoring in institutes or at home, while a further seven percent rely on paid courses on internet platforms. Only 14 percent can count on private unpaid support. Support in mathematics is particularly in demand, followed by German, English and French.

According to AK, parents spent a total of 168 million euros on support in the past school year, 46 million more than in the previous year. This means costs of around 750 euros per child. In 2022/23 it was "only" 720 euros.

Many cannot afford private tuition
Of course, this nationwide figure does not apply to all federal states. For Upper Austria, for example, the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor recently determined that 523 euros are spent on private tuition per schoolchild. Around half of the parents who have not organized professional help say that they have not done so because of the high costs. However, a good 25 percent would have liked to make this possible for their children.

The AK is therefore calling for nationwide free support in schools for all those who need it. So that success in "Nachzipf" and other areas does not depend on parents' income and educational opportunities become more equal.

31 percent of parents learn with their children every day
However, parents are also the busiest tutors: 31% say that they work and study with their children almost every day during school hours. 24 percent do this two to three times a week and a further 17 percent at least weekly. For one in three families with working parents, this is almost impossible to manage in terms of time, and more than one in five respondents say that they are unable to support their children due to a lack of knowledge.