Stoisits: Error made by school authorities - teacher loses job

A young Austrian teacher studied in the UK and worked two years at a college. When the Board of Education in the Tyrol offered her a job in Lienz, she quit and went back to Austria, where she taught for two years. Immediately after the job offer in June 2008 Mrs. N.N.  sent all the documents to the Board of Education of the Tyrol which should forward them to the Ministry of Education for approval. The Board of Education had assured her that her British degree is recognized in Austria as a training for teachers for art education and media design, and she would only have to take a small additional exam about the Austrian school law.

The second school year had already begun when the Ministry for Education informed her that her education is not recognized and that she needs additional training at Austrian universities.

The next possible opportunity for the necessary exams came in fall 2010 at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. But the director of the study program explained to her that her degree was a European teacher training and that she would not need the exams. She turned to the Ministry for Science which confirmed this information refering to European law provisions.

In the meantime, the position at the school in Lienz was given to another candidate, although in the end a decision by the Ministry for Education confirmed that her training was fully recognized – but the decision took them two years. The teacher lost her job and now receives social benefits.

Ombudswoman Stoisits: „A young Austrian teacher gave up her indefinite job in England because she was promised a job in the Tyrol by the Board of Education. She was employed in Austria and the procedures to recognize her degree took two years – in the meantime, her job was given away to another candidate. This is unacceptable. This is a mistake made by the Board of Education of the Tyrol as well as by the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture. The Austrian Ombudsman Board hopes that the authorities will find a solution for the woman concerned, it was them who caused the problem”, said Ombudswoman Stoisits.

The representataive present of the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture said that he would try to find a solution.

Re-examination: Tuition fees for hard-working students?

Since 2008, the tuition fees at universities are de facto abolished. But especially the hard-working students are disadvantaged by the new regulation.

In May 2009, Ombudswoman Stoisits had already dealt with this case. Mr. N.N. was particularly ambitious and studied two subjects at once – nevertheless, he had to pay the tuition fee. The reason: Those who study in minimum time are exempted from fees. In psychology he was within this time, but not in law. Therefore, he had to pay tuition fees. The additional costs took Mr. N.N.’s motivation and he gave up his law studies.

An amendment for the Tuition Fee Regulation by the Ministry of Science should determine that an exemption of tuition fees for the second study programme is possible if the parties concerned at least acquire 10 credits – which represents one third of the required coursework (30 credits). The amendment was not implemented because of violent protests by the universities.

Nine months later, there finally is a solution: if at least half of the required coursework is done in the second studies (15 credits), the students do not have to pay tuition fees even if they are over the minimum time.

"I am delighted that this great injustice has been eliminated. The only drawback is that there is no appeal from the refusal as the scheme is not enshrined in the Universities Act or in a regulation. So far only 88 students have applied for refund of tuition fees, the reason is probably that not too many know about the new possiblity. The application form and the adoption can be found on the website of the Ministry for Science”, said Ombudswoman Stoisits.