New Educational Step in Austria: Orientation Classes Coming
Austria’s Education Committee has taken a significant step to ease the integration of migrant students and those who enter education later. Starting with the 2025/26 academic year, “orientation classes” will be launched across the country. This new initiative specifically targets newly arrived migrants or students returning to school after a break who have not had consistent access to an education system.
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr emphasized that this is not a mandatory nationwide measure but a model to be implemented in schools where needed, describing the orientation classes as “a special form of German support classes.”
Planned to last up to six months, these classes will be organized flexibly across different school types and levels. After gaining basic language and academic skills here, students can choose to continue in regular German support classes if they wish.
Educational circles highlight that this new step will mean organizational changes for schools but also offers teachers a greater opportunity to provide individualized support to students. Following a final decision by the National Assembly’s General Assembly, the program is expected to begin on September 1, 2025.