Good news

The party I voted for has become #1 in Austria. So the desired change of government is going to come. I'm curious what reforms of the educational systems they'll have. My suggestions would be:

  * There should be primary, secondary and tertiary schooling.

  * Primary schooling should usually start at an age of 6 years and last until 12.

  * It should, however, be possible to start primary schooling at an earlier age if the child appears to be gifted.

  * If a child already knows how to read, write and make simple calculations before entering school, then the child should be allowed to start at the 2nd form.

  * Secondary schooling should usually start at 12 and last until 18.

  * Tertiary schooling (university, university of applied sciences and related institutions) should start after finishing secondary school.

  * It should be possible to skip up as many grades as you like both in primary and secondary schooling. All that's necessary is to pass an exam about the contents of the grade that is to be skipped before the start of the school-year.

  * Home tuition should remain a legal alternative.

  * There should be no difference between "Hauptschule" and "AHS-Unterstufe" any longer. Hauptschule teachers and AHS teachers should be given equal rights to teach grades 5 and 6 (= last two years of the new primary school, which used to be part of the secondary school until now). For grades 7 to 12, only AHS teachers should be allowed to teach.

  * Training of new Hauptschule teachers should be stopped. All teachers for secondary schools should in future be university graduates.

  * Schools should be given full autonomy to choose their teaching personnel and pupils.

  * Schooling should remain free.

  * Universities could continue charging study fees, but they should be returned to the students upon their graduation. This would motivate them to complete their degrees.

  * There should be a "Mittlere Reife" (O-levels) exam after grade 9 which would enable students to enroll in a technical school or start an apprenticeship.

  * Top students should get financial benefits and there should be special courses for talented secondary school students at university.

I guess yet more ideas would come to my mind if thinking longer, or being asked about special aspects of schooling. Maybe I'll do some brain-storming in a forum.

I guess I'll mail Dr. Gusenbauer my ideas.

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