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Masks no longer required in classrooms in Austria

School students will not be required to wear masks in Austria as of Wednesday.

Masks no longer required in classrooms in Austria
Austrian students are getting ready for the Matura, the "exit" exam from school. Photo by marco fileccia on Unsplash

From Wednesday June 16th, it will be no longer be mandatory for children to wear masks in class and group rooms at all schools.

Education Minister Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP) and Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) announced the change on Saturday, with the measure finalised in parliament on Tuesday.

The ministers said falling infection rates had allowed the change. 

Masks will still be required where distance cannot be kept, i.e. in indoor events or activities such as choirs, as well as in the rest of the school building (I.e. other than classes and group rooms). 

Is this too soon? 

While school students and some parents – along with members of the teaching staff – have welcomed the changes, experts are less convinced. 

Michael Wagner, a microbiologist from the University of Vienna, told Austria’s Kronen Zeitung newspaper that the change was likely to lead to an increase in infections. 

Masks, testing and sport: What are the rules for schools in Austria?

“If you relax these effective measures, the probability that the number of unreported cases will rise again in schools.”

Wagner also warned that the change might signal to the public that the pandemic is over “when this is certainly not the case”. 

The policy change does not impact the rules for testing in schools in Austria. 

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SCHOOLS

How Austria plans to boost English bilingual teaching in schools

Austria has announced it is aiming to boost the number of lessons that are taught in English in its schools.

How Austria plans to boost English bilingual teaching in schools

The idea to increase the number of lessons taught in English in Austrian schools was established by law in 2022.

Austria’s Education Minister Martin Polaschek has now submitted a draft law, which includes additional details to the plans, Der Standard reported. 

It also includes information on how the existing English language instruction programs, currently taking place in a few schools, should be implemented across the regular school system.

Starting from the school year 2024/25 primary schools will also offer more bilingual education.

REVEALED: Just how well do Austrian’s speak English?

Additionally, secondary schools and general secondary education schools will also be able to offer more bilingual classes.

Ensuring proficiency in both English and German

The aim is to ensure that students are educated in both German and English to a level that enables them to achieve proficiency similar to that of a native speaker in their initially weaker language.

The objective is to establish at least one secondary school in each one of Austria’s 31 educational regions where English serves as the primary language of instruction in certain classes.

In a recent global ranking Austria was placed third for English proficiency, although the level of English ability varied across the country.

Which regions of Austria speak the best English?

Despite its high population of foreigners, the best English speakers in Austria are not – in fact – found in Vienna. That said, the Viennese are no slouch, scoring an impressive 640 as a region – enough to put them well into the C1 category of English proficiency.

Indeed when it comes to cities around the world Vienna was ranked in 2nd for English proficiency, only behind Amsterdam.

However, the best English speakers in Austria are found in Styria – and particularly in Graz, which scores an impressive 668 points.

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