STOISITS: FREE KINDERGARTEN

In Austria a law was passed according to which kindergarten education should be free of charge for all children and mandatory for 16 hours from autumn 2009 on. Numerous parents from Lower Austria whose children attend a Viennese kindergarten turned to the Austrian Ombudsman Board because they have to pay for the last year of kindergarten in Vienna. A woman from Lower Austria works close to the kindergarten of her six-year-old son in the 4th Viennese district for more than four years now, but Lower Austria does not pay the necessary 180 euros per month during the last year of his attendance. The same happened in a similar case as well and neither Lower Austria nor Vienna feel responsible. In order to receive the allowance, both children would have to change to kindergartens in Lower Austria.

The head of department of Viennese kindergartens emphasized that the financial resources are distributed to the provinces according to the number of children attending kindergarten. The principal residence determines which province is responsible for paying the allowance. She states that Vienna already pays for all Viennese children aged 0-6 attending Lower Austrian kindergartens, but Lower Austria rejects paying the last year of kindergarten for children in Vienna.

The head of department of schools and kindergartens of the Lower Austrian government already turned to the municipality of Vienna in September 2009 for a solution of the problem. But Vienna does not feel responsible since they already pay for their Viennese children in Lower Austrian kindergartens.

For ombudswoman Terezija Stoisits this case shows the negative consequences of federalism. Vienna and Lower Austria are the only federal states that did not agree on a specific arrangement. The sympathy of the authorities does not help the complainants, they need a fast solution. Ombudswoman Terezija Stoisits criticizes that the state already paid for the last year of kindergarten for all these children, but Lower Austria does not pay out the money. She calls for a fast and unbureaucratic solution until the beginning of the new school year at the latest.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board insists on a consensus and encouraged the Viennese Mayor Michael Häupl as well as the Governor of Lower Austria Erwin Pröll to agree on a solution.

Students with double or multiple studies have to pay tuition fees

Since January 1, 2009, students are freed from tuition fees if they  do not exceed the tolerated amount of semesters. Numerous students complained to the Austrian Ombudsman Board in 2009 because they had to pay tuition fees since they were studying more than one subject and exceeded the tolerated amount of semesters in one of them. According to the complainants, especially motivated students aiming at a double degree had to pay tuition fees even if they did not exceed the tolerated amount of semesters in at least one of their subjects.

1. The „Bürgeranwalt“ already reported on one of these cases on May 2nd, 2009. Subsequently, the ministry of Science sent out a draft legislation to change the act of tuition fees. But the draft act has not been implemented due to resistance of the universities and the conference of university deans.

According to a speaker of the ministry of Science the draft law was not performance-oriented enough and universities feared a loss of income. The next solution will be more performance-oriented. The Ministry of Science will reimburse successful students their fees instead of granting them a general exception. This act could be implemented by October. Ombudswoman Stoisits supported the compromise but doubted whether politicians would agree. She emphasized that the deans did not have legislative power and that a solution was in the hands of the ministry.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board supports students who aim at a double degree and still have to pay tuition fees and will refer to this problem in its annual report to the National and Federal Assembly.

Bathing jetty at Wörthersee legalized

On February 28, 2009, ombudswoman Stoisits reported on a jetty at Wörthersee which had been built without any permission of the authorities, according to the neighbor. Furthermore, the construction did not respect the original building alignment and therefore, the neighbor could not extend her own jetty. It turned out that in fact the jetty had been built without any permissions according to water or conservational law. Both authorizations were requested and obtained afterwards. The Austrian Ombudsman Board criticized that the municipial administration of Klagenfurt neither stopped the building process nor started a penal procedure although the permission of conservational law was missing. „Although all permissions were given correctly afterwards, everyone can get an idea of the working style in the municipial administration of Klagenfurt“, concludes ombudswoman Stoisits.