Education in Austria

The Republic of Austria has a free and public school system, and nine years of education are mandatory. Schools offer a series of vocational-technical and university preparatory tracks involving one to four additional years of education beyond the minimum mandatory level. The legal basis for primary and secondary education in Austria is the School Act of 1962. But in 1963 it went back to the way it was. But again In 1999 it finally changed again. The federal Ministry of Education is responsible for funding and supervising primary, secondary, and, since 2000, also tertiary education. Primary and secondary education is administered on the state level by the authorities of the respective states.

Federal legislation played a prominent role in the education system, and laws dealing with education effectively have a de facto constitutional status because, like Austrian constitutional law, they can only be passed or amended by a two-thirds majority in parliament.

It is mandatory for pupils in Austria to complete nine years of school, four years in elementary school (Volksschule) and four years in a school for lower secondary education (Hauptschule) or grammar school (Gymnasium). Students who want to do an apprenticeship additionally need to go to a polytechnic institute (Polytechnische Schule) for a year. After finding an apprentice position they have to visit vocation school (Berufsschule) for three years, this can be done either in block release (5 days a week for about four months) or day release (once a week in the same stretch of time as a normal school). On the days you are at school you don't have to go to work. At the end of those three years they have to take an exam, the final apprenticeship examination (Lehrabschlussprüfung).

Pupils who want to get a degree have to complete four to five years at an institution of higher education (Höhere Schule) or a vocational school with higher education entrance qualification (Berufsbildende Höhere Schule). Most of these schools require an entrance exam or demand high marks on your last school certificate. The final exam for either one of those higher education institutions is the matriculation (Matura). After that you are free to go to university, though some of the branches may require additional exams (e.g. medicine).

Private schools that provide primary and secondary education and some teacher training are run mainly, but by no means exclusively, by the Roman Catholic Church and account for approximately 10% of the 6,800 schools and 120,000 teachers. Roman Catholic schools have a reputation for more discipline and rigor than public institutions, and some are considered elite institutions. Because there is no tradition of private university education in Austria, the state has a virtual monopoly on higher education. This has been changing slowly in recent years as private universities become more commonplace.

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