Report finds increasing number of students in Vienna with German difficulties

The Austrian capital of Vienna has seen an alarming increase in the number of school students who do not have sufficient German language abilities, a new report on Tuesday revealed.

Der Standard newspaper reported Education Councillor Christian Oxonitsch as saying the rise in such "exceptional" student cases has risen 53 percent in the past four years.

In the school year 2010/2011 there were about 7,900 such students in schools in the national capital, which has in the meantime increased to about 12,100 for the current year.

The students, who have a migratory background, are thus able to take part in school but are unable to receive grades. The "exceptional" status may continue for up to two years, before the student is required to have sufficient language ability in order to become an "ordinary" student.

President of the Vienna City School Board Susanne Brandsteidl said children who have not yet mastered German must be given time to improve, while the opposition People's Party (OeVP) called for a quality initiative in both kindergartens and schools to improve the problem.

The report also indicated the issue is believed to exist nation-wide, with some 27,000 such students now attending schools across the country. Endit