The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) in Lower Austria has unveiled a controversial proposal to tie family allowance benefits to German language proficiency among migrant children. Under the plan, families whose children begin school without basic German skills would lose access to these benefits.
The measure, according to the FPÖ, aims to address language barriers and encourage families to ensure their children are better prepared for school. “If children don’t know a single word of German, there is no money. It’s that simple,” declared Edith Mühlberghuber, the FPÖ’s family spokeswoman in Lower Austria. She emphasized the need to tackle what she called an “imported language problem,” arguing that financial penalties could either spur language learning or save the state money.
Mühlberghuber pointed to challenges faced by Vienna as a cautionary tale. Recent data revealed that over 76% of middle school students in the Austrian capital don’t speak German at home, with some districts reporting figures exceeding 90%. “In Vienna, the situation is quite dramatic,” she warned, adding that Lower Austria must avoid similar issues. “The fact that children come to first grade without a word of German is unacceptable.”
The proposal echoes recommendations from Natascha Taslimi, chair of the Austrian Elementary Education Network. She suggested integrating German language requirements into Austria’s parent-child pass, which already includes mandatory health check-ups needed to access family allowances. Taslimi noted that many parents mistakenly assume kindergartens and schools will teach their children German, but under current conditions, this expectation is unrealistic. “An elementary school teacher with 25 children cannot adequately support multilingualism,” she explained, emphasizing that insufficient staff and poor working conditions are limiting language development in young students.
The strain on educators has been evident, with up to 20 teachers reportedly leaving their positions daily in Vienna’s compulsory schools. Teachers’ union member Thomas Krebs described the exodus as a “massive issue,” blaming the overwhelming demands placed on teachers due to increasing student needs. Reports from Exxpress reveal that 45% of first-grade students in Vienna currently lack adequate German skills to follow lessons. Many of these children, despite being born in Austria and attending kindergarten for more than two years, are classified as “exceptional students” requiring additional resources, which remain in short supply.
Arabic, the primary language for 70% of the 20,000 “exceptional students” in Vienna, highlights the linguistic diversity in schools. Mühlberghuber argued that linking benefits to language skills would motivate families to prioritize German learning, potentially easing the burden on educators and fostering better integration in the classroom.
